Dear Readers:
I am “blogging the book” along with you. My daily blog postings are my musings this year as I prepare my heart for a great Christmas.
Today my intention is to approach my projects with a spirit of enthusiasm and not let their scope or details discourage me.
I hope you have a great day!
Remember when this was the most pressing item on our minds?
Recalling what we’re grateful for can take us back to that place of wonder. On my gratitude list today are: my family; dear colleagues and friends; our home; and music!
Today my intention is to trust that God is in charge. As my friend Renee recently emailed me:
I have resigned my position of Manager of the Universe this year. Some gifts will be bought, more later than sooner for a change, children will either be happy or not, either way, I’m not overly concerned. I’ve also resigned from my position as Teller of All Gifts to be Bought for Others. I’m already behind schedule and if anyone wants to buy gifts for anyone who lives in my house, then they can go Old School and think of a gift all by themselves. This is a very liberating experience for me and I’m sticking to it!
Let’s trust that the love Santa represents will be made evident in many creative ways, not just in wrapped gifts!
Today in Prepare Your Heart for a Great Christmas, we read:
The manger scene is a powerful reminder of God’s eternal open door policy. As you set up your creche this year, reflect upon each character and the special purpose he or she had to bring Jesus into the world. Pray for an open heart to accept this year’s invitation.
Today I wake achy and foggy from not-the-best-night’s sleep. But, my gratitude list compels me to find things I’m thankful for, even when I am tempted to wallow in my physical discomfort. There is beautiful sunlight streaming in the window behind me; my husband fixed a delicious egg sandwich for me for breakfast; and this new keyboard is helping ease the aches in my shoulders.
I feel better already! And when I’m grateful and feeling good, I’m more open to God’s invitation: How can I bring Jesus to my world today?
Today is Monday of the first week of Advent, and already I’m behind! This morning we woke up late and cheered when we saw fresh snow on the ground. As I drove my daughter to school (we missed the bus, of course!) I saw green grass and plants under the blanket of white. They are reluctantly giving way to winter, but in our house we’re celebrating its arrival!
Today my daughter selected the December 1st item for our Advent calendar–a magnetized Nativity scene. Each day’s slot holds a tiny addition to the scene, from stars and animals to angels and a special babe. As the stable fills, so do our hearts in anticipation of Christmas day. Today’s item is a tiny star.
I am grateful today for my work, my family and our warm home. I am grateful for no appointments so I can work through my full to-do list. Today my intention is to be grateful for all these tasks and to not let crankiness or stress get in the way of God’s work in all the things I do and say today. And, to delight in the beautiful snow outside my window!
Today I am grateful for: dear friends, music, and the dusting of snow we got last night that continues today. My daughter is thrilled!
Today I intend to enjoy my family and live with the joy of a blessed person–because I am!
Do I ever need to hear today’s scripture passage:
All things work together for good for those who love God. Romans 8:26-30
We started our Christmas decorating around the house this week. My husband put up the outside lights, and with my daughter’s help I tackled the toughest task (besides the tree) of assembling and lighting our little Christmas village. Katie followed me down to the basement as I began pulling out the boxes, my spirit lacking some enthusiasm for the job. “I’m here to help!” she announced, her face beaming with the prospect of the display’s reappearance in our home. She helped carry boxes, unpack them and set up the display…my faithful companion until the job was done. Then, she got to do her favorite part of arranging all the people, trees, and other accessories in the village. Seeing this project through her eyes, my spirits were lifted, and my heart soared when we clicked on the lights for the first time.
Katie was a physical reminder to me of God’s abiding presence in my life. As I faced the project ahead, more out of duty than of enthusiasm, her joyful companionship lifted the tasks and brought joy to my heart. Today, I am grateful for her and her sweet reminder that all is well; God is good.
My daughter had an interesting suggestion last night: “Why don’t they call it Green Friday?” We all agreed this term gets to the heart of “Black Friday,” but in less ominous, more abundant (and earth-friendly) terms!
Today I am grateful for:
Dear Reader, please comment:
How did you, or are you planning to spend Thanksgiving?
What are you grateful for this year?
Today I am grateful for:
Today my intention is to keep my thoughts and attention in the present moment. Spending time with family comes with a certain amount of stress, so I want to focus on enjoying everyone and being spontaneous and flexible. And speaking of that, I’m off to catch some of the Macy’s Parade on the TV with my daughter!
Happy Thanksgiving, Dear Ones!
Recently my colleague and friend Julie Hood and I decided to cancel the Great Christmas Event. We were at the mercy of recent economic conditions, as many women who wanted to participate chose not to in order to save money, and time…which, ironically, we had solutions to these problems to offer workshop attendees!
Reflecting on this decision, and the larger issue of our global economic future, I see that our celebration of Christmas, as we have known it in recent years, will be impacted. And, I venture to say, for the better.
We have a big opportunity, this Christmas, to reclaim the heart of the season. By bringing the material aspects of the season into their proper perspective, we can make this year truly a Christmas to remember. We can start by focusing on the people, things and events for which we are grateful, rather than despairing over the things we think we’ll miss.
One big part of Christmas for which I am deeply grateful is the music. I’ve started a collection of hidden Christmas tracks–the inspiring songs we won’t hear on the radio, or those obscure songs from Christmas movies. This year, I will celebrate these selections by featuring them on the blog from time to time. Here’s the first entry:
A Quiet Christmas by Michael Gott
My heart longs for a quiet Christmas
Far from the hurry and the noise
Where peace on earth meets peace of mind
I long to find a quiet Christmas
Click on the link above and scroll down the page to another link to listen to this beautiful song. This year we have the opportunity for the quiet Christmas that our hearts long for.
Dear Reader, please comment:
I’ve been remiss posting to this blog over the last several days. I have few viable excuses to offer, except this: “You teach best what you need to learn.” – Richard Bach, American writer, author of Jonathan Livingston Seagull
As I join you in using Prepare Your Hearts for a Great Christmas, I find myself missing the mark sometimes. As a close friend of mine said, “You know you’ve created the perfect example of IRONY, don’t you!! You’ve created a peaceful plan for everybody but you!! Oh, but hopefully, it’s the good kind of busy ….”
Yes, I have been busy. This has made my daily reflection time more difficult to carve out, especially with a snow storm over the weekend, my husband’s surgery yesterday, and the details that go into my daughters’ last week at school before winter break. All these, plus events surrounding the book, and attending to creating a Great Christmas for my family, have added to my delinquent blog posts.
There are a couple of deeper issues, too, that perhaps you’ll understand. The biggest one is how much I’m missing my father this year. It has been 12 years since his passing. He celebrated his birthday with mine during the month of December, and I don’t know what triggered it, but this year my sadness at his absence is especially strong. I’ve managed it by having a few heart-to-heart talks with my husband, and a good cry.
These feelings echo my first Christmas without my dad. Here’s a piece I wrote for my agency newsletter that year:
So, who’s in the Christmas spirit?
Although ‘tis the season, my heart is having a hard time getting into the mood. Perhaps it is because the holidays have snuck up on me once again. Or maybe I’m disgusted with the commercialism of it all. Or maybe it’s the anxiety over the stress (which is imminent) that comes with preparing for family gatherings and buying and shopping and baking and wrapping, etc. Truth be known, my real hesitation comes from knowing my kid’s grandpas and other folks we love who’ve died won’t be here this year. At least, not in person, anyway.
Whatever it is that keeps the Christmas spirit away—the swift passage of time, the stress, or the loss of a loved one—they all have one thing in common: emptiness. So why should I feel empty, as the world seems to revel in anticipation, red ribbon and computer chip carols?
A wonderful story tells of the elves deciding to give their generous employer, Santa Claus, a special Christmas gift. They thought and thought about what to give him, and even asked Mrs. Claus’s advice. They were stumped. What do you give to a man who gives so much to others, and has such simple needs himself?
Finally, Christmas Eve arrived, and the elves presented Santa with a beautifully wrapped gift. Santa eagerly tore open the paper, and discovered…an empty box! The big guy in the red suit was puzzled. The elves explained:
“Because we love you, Santa, we’ve given you the one gift you truly need — nothing! Your gift box is full of the precious gift of emptiness.”
“The elves said, ‘the gift of emptiness is to be needy in a way that isn’t bad, Santa. Emptiness is an enchanted, hollow space that we all need in our hearts…that only another or others can fill.”*
Like Santa, we all may fear being empty and needy. During the holiday season, the many things that keep us busy can also keep us from facing the emptiness inside. We’ll still feel hollow, though: material thinks will never really fill us.
The stress and anxiety that comes with “decking the halls” can send us “climbing the walls.” We may get caught up in the “stuff” of Christmas and lose sight of its real meaning. Yet, the material gifts we work so hard to pre pare are really only faint shadows of the wonderful gifts God has given us in our talents, relationships and in creation.
Faith calls us to look at life through this lens: all is gift from God, and it’s all pretty terrific, if we just pay attention! In the hit movie, The Santa Clause, Tim Allen plays a father who unwittingly takes on the job of Santa Claus. After his first night delivering gifts, the reindeer return him to the North Pole, and he sees Santa’s Workshop. After witnessing the elaborate assembly of machinery, elf workers, and toys, he says, “Wow! If I hadn’t seen this with my own eyes, I wouldn’t have believed it!” His elf companion replies, “Most people say, ‘Seeing is believing,’ we say, ‘Believing is seeing.’“
Believing is seeing. Faith gives us the opportunity to view ourselves, others, and life (even with all its stresses), as gift. Just as Santa’s empty box was transformed into an opportunity to let God into his heart, so can our concerns, joys, frustrations, and yes, even our emptiness, be transformed.
This is the hope that Christmas offers. As we remember the baby born in Bethlehem, we see life, innocence, potential and trust born anew to a world hardened by death, deceit, suffering and broken dreams. Christmas is really about new beginnings, and hearts filled with hope. But our hearts need to be empty to receive.
The title “Deck the Halls Without Climbing the Walls” suggests a “how-to-do-it” for getting through the holidays. Well, here’s my suggestion: During December, as we prepare for the holiday season, or procrastinate until there’s little time left, or face the empty place at the table where a loved one used to sit, let’s say a quick prayer. Instead of trying to push away a negative feeling, let’s invite God to be with us in it. At the core of that feeling is an emptiness that God is waiting to fill. As he was born into a stable hardly fitting the Creator of us all, so too does he desire a home in our hearts. Morton Kelsey writes:
“I myself am very glad that the divine child was born in a stable, because my soul is very much like a stable, filled with strange unsatisfied longings, with guilt and animal-like impulses, tormented by anxiety, inadequacy and pain. If the holy One could be born in such a place, the One can be born in me also. I am not excluded.”
Believing is seeing. Even our emptiness is a gift. So, find that empty spot, ask God to join you, and just wait.
*Excerpt from Santa’s Gift: A Christmas Parable, written by Edward Hays. Reprinted with permission of Forest of Peace Books, copyright 1986.
If you’re reading Prepare Your Heart for a Great Christmas this year, you’ll recognize bits of the above reflection scattered throughout the book.
I mentioned above that there are a couple of issues behind my blues this Christmas. The other has to do with the unrelenting cheeriness of holiday music! Today my husband and I entered the lobby of his doctor’s building and were immediately assaulted by LOUD elevator music, a tinny instrumental version of We Need a Little Christmas. Readers may recall that this song, the version with vocals, provided the soundtrack to a very memorable Christmas Moment of mine. But this morning, in my current funk, the music demanded my participation, and I didn’t like it much.
Reflecting on this, I see how the expectations of cheer this time of year can create yet another burden on people. It may contribute to the Blue Christmas many experience. And I’m included, with the sadness that snuck up on me when I least expected it.
I’ll take a fresh look at my wise words from 12 years ago, and invite God into this sad spot in my heart (stable). One of my blessings this year, I am beginning to see, is how the wisdom of Prepare Your Heart for a Great Christmas was intended to help keep my mind, heart and soul in tact, too! And speaking of stables, here’s a great song by the same name, written by Peter Mayer and available through his website off the CD Midwinter (1st track). This song was a great inspiration to me as I wrote the book, plus you’re not likely to hear it in an elevator anytime soon:
Long ago and so today
Where hatred-weary people pray
Love will come and lay there
And so do countless stables stand
In hearts as harsh as desert lands
Rough shelters in the wind and sand
That love may come and stay there
Love that opens fists of hate
Heaps up gold on beggars’ plates
Love that shows a kindly face
To enemies and strangers
And the walls of stables tremble so
When the winds of fear and judgment blow
For a stable hopes in love alone
And knows that love’s the answer
O Love, the prophet’s only word
The only lesson left to learn
The only end of heaven’s work
And the only road that goes there
Love that sees with mercy’s eyes
Holds its arms out open wide
Threads its loom with separate lives
And weaves them all together
So may the lamps of stables glow
Brightly that their light may go
For miles in the darkness, so
Love will find its way there
© 2007 Maria Rodgers-O'Rourke. All rights reserved.
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