Wednesday Words

"These verses [about the wise men] show us that there may be true servants of God in places where we should not expect to find them.  The Lord Jesus has many 'hidden ones', like these wise men.  Their story on earth may be as little known as that of Melchizedek, Jethro, and Job.  But their names are in the book of life, and they will be found with Christ on the day of his appearing.  It is well to remember this.  We must not look round the earth and say hastily, 'All is barren'.  The grace of God is not tied to places and families.  The Holy Spirit can lead souls to Christ without the help of any outward means.  Men may be born in dark places of the earth, like these wise men, and yet like them be made 'wise for salvation'.  There are some traveling to heaven at this moment, of whom the church and the world know nothing.  They flourish in secret places like the 'lily among thorns', and seem to 'waste their sweetness on desert air'.  But Christ loves them, and they love Christ."

 

--J.C. Ryle

 

Ryle, J.C. "The Lessons of the Wise Men." Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus.

Comp. Nancy Guthrie. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2008. 110. Print.

Handwritten Recipes for Christmas

I'm always up for hearing Christmas gift ideas early, and get a head start every year--so I thought I would share what I did for my HUGE family last year, when we were on a tight budget.  It turned out so special, and there wasn't a dry eye in the Christmas gathering.

My Mom loved to cook for her family.  She wasn't the kind of cook that, if she would have had a blog, all her recipes would be re-pinned 500,000 times.  But to her family, her food was the kind that we could eat 500,000 times and it would never get old.  Her food tasted like growing up in our home; like the sanctuary of loved ones after a long workday; like the kitchen radio playing softly in the background, and laughing together around the table, long after the plates had been licked clean.

Last year, I tearfully went through hers and Grandma's cookbooks and found so many of our treasured dishes written in their own hand.  Handwritten recipes are so precious.  Especially the ones dating as far back as the late 1800s, like my Grandma's (Dad's Mom) pie crust and Mom's homemade tortillas (her Mom's recipe)--all in their familiar penmanship.  Some of them had humorous cooking notes, which makes me make such notes on MY recipes when I fill out my cards.

Last year, I was at a loss for my huge family's Christmas gifts (especially on a slim-to-no budget).  So I decided to photocopy all of Mom and Grandma's handwritten recipes and give those as gifts.  I simply photocopied them, printed them on multi-colored cardstock, and tied them with ribbon into bunches.  Even including a bit for the printer ink, I spent approximately $30-40 for this project, and it covered 22+ people for Christmas.

I'm so happy that my Mom and Grandma did this, and that I can pass these down to my girls. You could even go so far as to interview family members about their favorite family recipes, and include those on the backs of the cards.  If you have a Dad who is the family cook, encourage him to write his favorites down, too!  Things like this will be treasured for generations, and make extra special Christmas gifts.

T'was the Night After Christmas

One year ago, Christmas night, my husband and littles were next door sleeping.  I was sitting at the foot of my parents' bed, massaging my mom's feet with essential oils.  Her head had hurt so badly, and for so long, it was difficult for her to tell us if anything helped.  She barely smiled and nodded when I asked if massaging was helping, so I kept on softly rubbing her feet.  I reminisced about the last time I rubbed her feet, when she was expecting my siblings and her feet were swollen from late pregnancy.  I had always enjoyed doing that for her, and she would lavish me with thanks when I did.

My brother Josh quietly entered the room, and walked to Mom's bedside.  She weakly reached out and took his hand, whispering, "I like your pants".  She had picked out the Hollister sweatpants for him, and he unwrapped them that morning when we all exchanged our gifts.  It was a wonderful Christmas morning with her, as she sweetly bore the headache, the light, the noise, so that she could be with us for our presents.

She held Josh's hand there for awhile, while I rubbed her feet.  He leaned down for a soft hug and told her he loved her, before he headed to bed.  And I wept.  Rubbing her feet there in her room, I wept fearful tears.  I didn't know why for sure at the time, but there was a peculiar dread, one I had never known, filling my chest.  Peculiar, because while the dread brought the weeping, there was a stillness--God was good and I could trust him.

I finished my massaging, said a short prayer for her, told her I loved her and went next door to my sleeping family.  Just a few hours later, the morning of December 26th, my Mama would breathe her final earthly breath.

I had always feared this.  Just a month before, I had been struggling and praying for such fear.  The Lord had been preparing and challenging my heart to trust him even in my worst fears.  I had always pictured such a tragedy being experienced with frantic anxiety, loud weeping, unbelief, fear, and pain so intense that you can't breathe.  But from the moment I got the phone call from the ER, my Dad's broken voice telling me that she was gone, there was a stillness.

When I had to hold my siblings as they wept soft tears, and I with them...a stillness.

When I had to do what I never thought I would do...
pick out my mother's burial clothes, her casket, her flowers...a stillness. 
When I saw her earthen body, which barely resembled the lovely lady I knew in her life...a stillness.

 

He, my gracious Father, was with me.  And the deeper understanding I had of the good news of his Son, the deeper was my comfort.  I urge you, friends, to know the Gospel of this Savior.  To know Him and be found in Him (Phil. 3:8). Know the love our Maker demonstrated for us in him (Rom. 5:8).  Nothing else matters, and it won't merely be nice reminders in hard times--it, and most importantly HE, will be your fortress (Ps. 18:1-2).

I know Christmas can be the most difficult season for those who are grieving lost loved ones.  And while it's been really hard as it's come closer to the milestone of her passing, I've been thankful that she passed the day after Christmas.  The same time of year that we are reminded of how death struck us with painful loss, is the same time of year that we celebrate that death will not have the last laugh.  We celebrate the advent of the incarnate Word of God.
We celebrate the Cross of Calvary.
We celebrate his Resurrection.
And we celebrate his Second Advent.
When despair tempts us in our grief, we don't have to look very far;  in lights, Christmas trees, nativities, carols and hymns, traditions, and advent sermons, and we are bombarded with reminders of Christ and the hope he gave us with His life.

 

Wednesday Words

As he said these things, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed!” But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”

Luke 11:27-28

 

"How great a privilege was it to this young virgin (Mary) to conceive in her womb and hold in her arms and suckle at her breasts, a Child who was the great and eternal and infinitely beloved Son of God, the Creator and mighty Governor of heaven and earth and the great Savior of mankind.  Well might she say upon it, "My soul doth magnify the Lord and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior."

But hearing and keeping the word of God renders a person more blessed than any of those privileges.  By 'hearing the Word of God' is either intended an external or an internal or spiritual hearing.  The woman to whom Christ directed himself in the text had been hearing the word externally.  Christ therefore here informs her that if she not only hears but keeps this word, he will render her more blessed than that privilege that she spoke of."

--Jonathan Edwards

 

 

Luke. English Standard Version. Wheaton: Crossway, 2001. Print.

 

Edwards, Jonathan. "To Be More Blessed Than Mary." Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus.
Comp. Nancy Guthrie. Wheaton: Crossway, 2008. 57. Print.
Parenthesis mine.

Wednesday Words

 

Donne, John, and Joseph "Skip" Ryan. "Tabernacled Among Us." Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus.

Comp. Nancy Guthrie. Wheaton: Crossway, 2008. 20. Print.

Wednesday Words

 

Whitefield, George. "Contemplating Christmas." Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus. By Nancy Guthrie. Wheaton: Crossway, 2008. 11. Print.