Celebrating Christmas on a Shoestring

The way the economy is these days there are lots of folks suffering. Unemployment is at an all time high. Rumor has it that Santa ‘s Work Shop may have to file bankruptcy! In times like these we need to remember what Christmas is really all about, and share some practical ways to have a wonderful Christmas on a shoestring budget (or maybe even less). Let me share some ways to make Christmas special that will cost you little to nothing, except maybe a little time and effort.

It certainly doesn’t cost much to say, “Thank you.” Why not take time on Christmas morning to say thanks to those you love. You’ll need to take a little time a day or two before. You might write a note, expressing your love and appreciation. Those are things that everyone needs and are too often lacking. Maybe you could write a poem, or a song. It can be loads of fun to make your loved one the theme of a parody on a Christmas Carol, or ’Twas the Night Before Christmas. I can imagine how it might begin:

‘Twas the night before Christmas and up in my room,

I was trying to figure what I could do.

Santa was broke and so was I,

And Christmas morning was drawing nigh.

If you’re the artsy type you might do a craft, a drawing, or a painting. Use materials you have laying around your house or in your garage. Add a little imagination, and invest a little time. Maybe you’re handy in the kitchen and have the ingredients to make a special treat. It may seem a little old-fashioned, but you’ll find it very rewarding.

You might search through your things, looking for some items that are meaningful to you that may have some deep sentiment attached. Use the opportunity on Christmas morning to pass them on to a son or daughter as an expression of your love and confidence in them. Give your daughter a favorite scarf, or item of jewelry that will mean something special to her, just because it was yours, or your mother’s, or your grandmother’s. Pass on a favorite pocket knife to your son, or something that belonged to your dad or grandfather. Share the awesome blessing of being together with your family, and discover the priceless things that will bring depth and true riches to your Christmas celebration.

Finally why not take time to worship with your family on Christmas morning. Share a prayer, and sing praise to God. Remember this is the real meaning of Christmas. Thank God for sending Jesus to save us and give us hope in this world so full of hopelessness. Experience His presence as you celebrate the birth of your Savior. May you have the merriest Christmas ever!

Remembering My Friend

Last night at 6:50 p.m. my friend Randal L. Dills finished his struggle with cancer and peacefully went home. Randy spent his last days surrounded by those who loved him. His sisters, his brother, and his children were there, taking turns during the night watches. Early one evening his sister, Margie, suggested they should try to close there eyes and get some rest. He had scarcely closed his eyes and another friend came to visit. The next time it was suggested that he should close his eyes to rest, he responded in his witty way that he had better not, because it draws visitors. I don't know how many friends came through his room there in the oncology ward, but on one of my later visits after he was put on the "Bi-Pak" (a mask that covered his mouth and nose and forced breaths of concentrated oxygen), he wrote, albeit in very shaky hand, "I've got a room full of people. He, He!" Randy was certainly a people person, and people loved him.

He had gift for making people laugh. In fact, he could just be telling about things that had happened to him. He didn't have to make things up because the truth was just funny the way he told it. For instance, back when Randy was working on our delivery team at the furniture store, when the truck pulled up to a house with dog, he would say to his partner, "hey, it's your turn to be dog biscuit."

Oh, yes, there were tears last night. I saw a daughter's tears as she sat by his bedside, and a brother's tears as he shared the news on his cell phone. I saw a son's tears, in his mother's embrace, and witnessed tears wiped from a sister's face. No one there had to shed their tears alone, for I know I felt the warmth of tears that were my own.

Still, if you could measure the laughter and the tears, you would discover that the joy of remembering outweighed our tears many times over. Sure life is full of ups and downs, but somehow my friend found the secret of finding the humor in everything. So, when I remember Randy, it won't with an image of suffering, nor with thoughts of the devastation of disease, but with joy and laughter, I'll be remembering my friend.

Finally, Randy was ready. He made preparation for everything, even though it seemed he had so little time. He made the funeral arrangements, choosing his pall bearers asking me to do the eulogy. He contacted his friend, Hubert, and had his Will notarized. He talked with God, and made his salvation sure. Randy was Ready. Yes, I certainly have good reason for joy as I remember my friend. This is not the end. It's the beginning because we have the hope of seeing him again.

The Brevity of Life

My old friend Randy is in the Oncology ward of Hamilton Medical Center, battling pneumonia and stage four cancer. I am older than Randy by only three and half months. Life seems so short. The Bible describes it as a vapor in James 4:14. Like a puff of steam that lingers but a moment before vanishing away, all too soon it passes. Other analogies from the Bible include Job who describes it as "swifter than a weaver's shuttle" in Job 7:6, and in Job 14:1-2 he writes:

Man born of a woman is of a few days and full of trouble.
He springs up like a flower and withers away;
like a fleeting shadow, he does not endure.

II Samuel 14:14 uses the analogy of how quickly water on the ground disappears, and the Psalmist describes writes in Psalm 103:15-16:

As for man, his days are like grass,
he flourishes like a flower of the field;
the wind blows over it and it is gone,
and its place remembers it no more.

Rev. Billy Graham, while speaking to students at Liberty University at the age of 78, said:

The greatest surprise in my life is the brevity of life.



The Rev. Billy Graham, who is now 91, continues to remind us that given the brevity of life, and nearness of eternity, we ought to live for Christ.

As I reflect on these things today, I remember a few lines from an old song that I share with you in closing:

Only one life so soon it will pass.
Only what's done for Christ will last.
So live for Jesus all your days.
It's the only life that pays.
When you recall, you have but one life.

Ode to the Taxpayer

The Daily Citizen News printed my poem, Ode to the Taxpayer, in the Letters to the Editor section of today's edition. I am posting it here for anyone who might be interested.

Ode to the Taxpayer

Why do we abuse the taxpayer so,
when he’s the one who makes things go?
From the City Council to Capitol Hill,
the taxpayer always pays the bill.

Here’s some news that just isn’t funny.
You know where they got that stimulus money!
Now Cap and Tax has put on the screws,
And our poor old taxpayer will pay the dues.

What a nightmare this congressional scare!
More frightening than Freddie is “Obama Care.”
Even more outrageous for our burned-out friend
is the more he’s taxed the more we spend.

Since his pockets just are not that deep,
we borrow and spend ‘cause we can’t be cheap.
And if his generation can’t pay the bill,
His children and grandchildren certainly will.

The State of the Nation

My wife and I have been avid fans of the Glenn Beck Show, albeit it is very difficult for us to see it as regularly as we would like. Beck's theme, "Refounding America," reminds me of Psalm 11:3, If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?

The cover of an April 2009 issue of Newsweek read, "The Decline and Fall of Christian America."
The article inside the magazine by Jon Meacham was entitled, "The End of Christian America."

One thing for certain is that Christianity is under attack. Of course, Jesus told us that since they hated Him, we would also be hated.

My Dad sent me a DVD presentation by Ken Ham entitled State of the Nation. It is a very stirring piece. Ken is the president and CEO of Answers in Genesis and the Creation Museum in Kentucky. His presentation is filled with so many interesting facts, including some information that should wake people up. One of early points he makes is based on a study by the Barna Group which shows that the church is not retaining its youth. According to the 2000 research by Barna, 61% of young people who attended church in their teens, fell away from church in their twenties.

I join Mr. Beck in noting that we are living in unprecedented times, that will go down in history as one of two things, either the death of America as we have known it, or as the generation that saved America. We have definitely go our work cut out for us. Hey, I believe we have got to save our youth, while we still can. So let's take our country back and make it One Nation Under God again!

In our Sunday Evening Service I reminded the folks that Jesus said that when we see all these things begin to come to pass, we should look up and lift up our eyes, because our redemption draweth nigh.

"I See the Lord"

One of our songs this morning was the Vineyard Music Classic by Mark McCoy and Andy Park, I See the Lord.

I see the Lord and His train fills the temple
I see the Lord, He is high and lifted up
I see the Lord and His train fills the temple
I see the Lord, He is high and lifted up

Angels cry ?Holy, holy is the Lord?
Angels cry ?Holy, holy is the Lord?

I see the Lord and His eyes are flaming with fire
I see the Lord and His hair is white as snow

Angels cry ?Holy, holy is the Lord?
Angels cry ?Holy, holy is the Lord?

The angels came and touched the coal to my lips
My guilt is gone and sin has been forgiven
And I cry ?Holy, holy is the Lord?
And I cry ?Holy, holy is the Lord?

And the temple is filled with the glory of God
And the whole earth is filled with the glory of God

He called to me ?Whom shall I send??
I answered Him ?I will go for You?
And I cry ?Holy, holy is the Lord?

The song is based on Isaiah 6:1-8,

1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.
2 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.
3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.
4 And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.
5 Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.
6 Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: 7 And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.
8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.
KJV

Isaiah sees a vision of the Lord in all His glory in the place of worship, the temple. Sometimes I wish we could have our spiritual eyes opened and be able to see God's presence when we gather to worship Him. Too often we gather to worship and simply go through the motions. When there are no more than two or three gathered together in His name, He declares that He is there in the midst of us.

This phrase, "His train fills the temple," really captures my imagination. The NIV translates the word, train, as "robe." I am thinking of all the effort of the woman who must have had to push through the crowd around Jesus in Matthew 9:20, to touch the hem of His garment. When she did, virtue flowed out from the Lord and she was healed. I am hoping we can grasp all of the awesome possibilities that must be open to us if we will just acknowledge Him Whose robe fills our place of worship! If only we can reach out by faith and touch that garment that must be all around us, then we can experience His power and presence ourselves. Open our eyes, Lord, we want to see Jesus, high and lifted up. No matter what difficulties we may be facing, if we can just cast our eyes upon Jesus, then by faith we can choose to see, to understand that He really is right there with us when we gather in His name. He is with us in power, and authority. So why not, just reach out and touch Him? Let Him heal your issues too. Blessings.

Merry Christmas!

Yesterday was "Black Friday," which marks the beginning of the Christmas shopping season. I really love this time of year because whether people admit or not, it's not much ado about nothing. The whole world is stirred as we celebrate Christmas. It is the birthday of the Savior, Jesus Christ. Hey that's why they call it CHRISTmas.

There are some who would like to do away with the greeting, "Merry Christmas!" They say it's offensive. They think we should say, "Happy Holidays," instead. Well, no matter what they choose to say, it is what it is! It's Christmas.

A woman, who has always made hand-made ornaments for the White House Christmas Tree, reported that she received a letter stating that no religious ornaments would be accepted this year. The tree will be called a "Holiday Tree" instead of a "Christmas Tree." She wrote back that they would not be receiving any ornaments from her.

Here at the furniture store where I work, we say, "Merry Christmas." In fact, just the other day Odell shared a "YouTube" video by Go Fish, entitled "Christmas With a Capital "C." Just click on the title and you can see it too.

For now, let me wish you a wonderful Christmas season. Blessings!