Author: LAH

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Happy New Year’s Eve… or is it?

as_janus_rostrum_okretu_ciachIt’s New Year’s Eve. I know I should be excited about this (and I am definitely looking forward to a friend’s party tonight), but I’ve always struggled to find meaning in this particular holiday.

It’s not like we’re celebrating a specific event—like the 4th of July or the resurrection. We’re not celebrating a honored person—such as George Washington, or St. Valentine. We’re not even marking an astronomical event. The winter solstice was ten days ago on December 21.

Rather, our celebration is based purely on the calendar being what it is. So, why do we celebrate January 1 as the start of a new year?

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Kicking the “Bucket List”

Bucket lists seem to be proliferating everywhere. There are ones you can buy (1,000 Places to See Before You Die, for example) and ones you make yourself. A quick web search turned up some pretty comprehensive lists of ideas ranging from places to go, books to read, and adventures to have, to financial and material success, skills to learn, and career ambitions.

Most bucket lists contain goals like visiting the Taj Mahal, going backpacking in Yosemite, or seeing a solar eclipse—or we write down our hope to earn a college degree, get married and have kids. Those are great things to aspire to. In fact, I’ve already checked all of them off my own list, and I recommend them highly!

Most people make their list by consulting themselves. They may get inspiration from other sources—friends, books, websites, etc.—but ultimately, they decide what they want to do with their lives. As followers of Christ, we need to come at making a bucket list from a different perspective. After all, we are not our own. We have traded everything we are for the surpassing value of Jesus (Philippians 3:8). We have been bought with a price (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).

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Merry Christmas

Over the years, our family has celebrated Christmas in lots of different ways. Sometimes we have lots of relatives. Sometimes it is just our small family—now even smaller with our daughters married, with homes and celebrations of their own. One year we had the flu, and quarantined ourselves. We usually attend a church service, with candles, carols, and a moment to stop and reflect. Every year has included joy and frazzled nerves, chaos and peace.

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But no matter how we spend Christmas this year, it’s still Good News:

Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.

Luke 2:10-11

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Swedish Meatballs

Considering that no one in our immediate family was Swedish (at least as far as we know), it’s a little strange that Swedish meatballs became the centerpiece for our yearly Christmas dinner. It just goes to show that anything can become a tradition if you let it.

My family discovered Swedish meatballs in 1964. We were traveling by train from Los Angeles to New York City. Both my parents had been raised on Long Island, and they wanted their California daughter to see where they had grown up. The New York World’s Fair provided an excellent excuse for a vacation. It takes three days to travel diagonally across the country—plenty of time to chat with the other passengers. My mom happened to be sitting next to a very nice lady who gave her this recipe.

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What to get the Person who has everything

Are you a last minute shopper? Judging from the crowds in the stores and the never-ending ads on TV and radio, you have plenty of company. Usually, I’ve almost finished my Christmas shopping by now—at least for the “easy” people on my list. But it’s the proverbial problem—what do you get for the person who has everything?

It’s astounding that we can even ask that question, really. After all, how many people in the history of the world literally have everything they need and most of what they want? And how can I, with my strictly budgeted gift fund, possibly get them whatever they might lack?

The real eye-opener came earlier this year when, at my family’s request, I tried to make my own wish list for Christmas and my December birthday. It was hard. Aside from a few minor wants (certainly not needs!), I couldn’t think of anything. I finally wrote down a couple of CDs I would enjoy, some books I’d like to read, and a list of ways I’d like to spend time with each person. Then, at the top of my list, I wrote “chickens.”

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“Dear Friends and Family…”

So, have you sent your Christmas cards yet?

Did you feel a little pang of guilt there? Did your holiday stress just go up a level? Yeah, mine too. The whole Christmas card production can take several entire days at our house… and it comes right at the busiest time of the year.

Sometimes I think the folks who mail their cards in January (or swap them for Valentines in February) have the right idea. Why do we do this to ourselves?

On the other hand, what says “Christmas” more than connecting with one another? If there’s any time of the year that relationships should trump our to-do lists, shouldn’t it be the season in which we celebrate Jesus coming to have a relationship with us?

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How to Say “You’re Forgiven”

Last time I wrote about how to say “I’m sorry.” Even if all our relationships are going great right now, I’m sure there will come a time when it’s very important that we know how to apologize.

But what happens when the shoe is on the other foot, and someone is apologizing to us? What happens when they ask for forgiveness—and maybe we’re not quite willing to forgive?

As important as it is to acknowledge our guilt and repent both to God and to the people we’ve hurt, it is equally essential to let go of the wrongs others have done to us.

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How to Say “I’m Sorry”

We probably all have memories of our parents sending us to apologize to someone: “Go to Grandma and tell her you’re sorry!” Most of the time, “sorry” was the last thing we were feeling. We were frustrated, angry, and decidedly unrepentant.

Now that we’re grown ups, there are still times when we need to go apologize to someone. Perhaps we’ve intentionally hurt them. Perhaps it was an honest mistake, and we didn’t mean to cause them distress. To me the biggest frustration is when someone is mad at me and I have no idea what I’ve done to offend them. But whatever the cause, if someone else believes we have done them wrong, then it is up to us to take the first step toward reconciliation.

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[Advent Conspiracy]

There are 22 more days until Christmas, and most of us are juggling to-do lists, shopping lists, budgets, and calendars, trying to fit it all in. How did this become the norm for advent? Somehow, somewhere, we’ve gone horribly wrong.

Enter the  [Advent Conspiracy] (yes, the cute little brackets are part of the name). While most of us acknowledge the problems of a commercialized, frenzied, over-committed, hollow shell of a holiday that has lost its heart, they have a cure. Click on their logo to watch their short video. At the very least, you will be inspired, and this might even change the way you do Christmas!

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Make a Christmas Tree Dimmer Switch

med bright tree 5596-2After years of debate, dead needles, and adamant kids (“It has to be real or it’s not Christmas!”), we finally broke down and bought an artificial tree. The cost of a fresh fir has gotten out of hand (and they sure didn’t last very long in our dry climate), plus our kids and their husbands had their own places, and could make their own fake-or-fresh decisions.

We looked long and hard to find a tree that looked as real as possible, and I’m happy to say that it fools many people. Even better, it came with the lights already integrated into the branches. No more tangled strings of lights, with all the reds in a clump and whole sections of tree dark. No sirree, things would be easy now. Continue reading →