Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Twas The Day After Christmas


"And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe,
and the Levites who taught the people said to all of them,
This day is holy to the Lord your God; mourn not nor weep.
For all the people wept when they heard the words of the Law.
Then [Ezra] told them,
Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet drink, and send portions to him for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. And be not grieved and depressed, for the joy of the Lord is your strength and stronghold.
So the Levites quieted all the people, saying,
Be still, for the day is holy. And do not be grieved and sad."
Nehemiah 8:9-11 Amplified Bible
Hey, Ya'll! Missed you!
I pray that you have had
and ARE STILL having a wonderful Christmas and New Year Season.
When the above words in Nehemiah transpired, the people had just had the Word of God restored to them, after having, as an entire people, strayed and forgotten the Word.
Once the Word was rediscovered and read to them all, they were stricken and grieved to hear how far they had fallen from God's best for them. True to form, God did not want them to be stricken for too long.
He now wanted them to celebrate Him,
and specifically His word to them.
I thought this a great representation of what His desire to us is at this time...
to not allow depression to creep in.
But, rather savor the moments,
and celebrate Him!
Because Jesus, the Logos, the Word, has come to us!
Rather than give into the routine cares of life,
I believe He would like us to take Him with us in a fresh new way
to face the up coming year!
"for the joy of the Lord is your strength and stronghold."

Maria's Silly Ditty

Twas the day after Christmas
And all through the house
Not a creature was stirring...
Not even a mouse(PC that is)!
The stockings were bulging with goodies galore
A sign that St Nick had been here before!
Gaming was going, music was playing, tummies were sighing...

All parties involved were united in hoping
To snuggle, to munch, to savor and crunch
The memories of happy times and such.
Desiring and hoping
"Let's don't let it end too very quickly"!

Somehow to not savor this moment,
would seem ungrateful...
Tis a gift that's been given...
A gift of knowing and sharing
Through love shown to others...
Another season...
Of beautiful memories
And overcome impossibilities!
Tell one, tell all
Of the great things He has done!
Don't let Him be forgotten!
Jesus Christ, His Son!


There is so much to do in preparation of this particular holiday.
Such a temptation to give in to the crassness of measuring
'who is giving what to who and how will we keep up'?
(who asked us to? No one! Why do we do this?)

Then somehow it all works out,
it's all beautiful, tasty and good!
People love, laugh, give, receive and eat...
well, maybe a bit too much!

Somehow, I have always been wired with a need
to savor the triumphs
of love over money, mercy over bitterness, abundance over lack,
'plenty of time after all'

Photobucket

over
'Oh, no, I don't know how I can do it all!',
that the days after Christams and all the way up to New Year's Day provide.
Yes, work must get done,
sometimes we even have to go there. (silly bosses!)
We must answer mail, pay bills and clean the kitchen.
But there is just such an atmosphere of leisure, grace and contentment
that seems available to allow us to consider all this year's Christmas Season provided.

It's truly unique to this time of year. And I really believe it is Heaven sent.
Nothing in us, in our natural self, lends itself to grace like this!
So, just like I enjoy seeing our children, nieces and nephews enjoying their presents,
I KNOW Our Father and Our Saviour desire that we enjoy the gifts
they have provided to us again this year.

I woke up grateful and telling the Lord Thank you! I LOVE you, Lord!

Thank you so much for another beautiful Christmas!
Beautiful in family, friends, memories and much love shown!
I know it was all You, God!

With man it's impossible, but with YOU its ALL possible!

5 comments:

Sharon Brumfield said...

I am glad ya'll had a great time during Christmas.
Ours was truly a gift from God.How good of Him to give us a gift on His birthday.

Cecily R said...

Love your poem...you are so clever! Here's hoping your day was a fabulous one!!!

Happiest Holidays Maria!

luvmy4sons said...

Loved the poem! Amen dear sister. I need reminded to stop and smell the roses as it were! It is a special time. It is nice to have these lazy days off of school and see family and friends more. Thanks for the reminder it is okay to enjoy!

She Rose Up said...

Sharon, I am so glad to hear it! I thought of you since we are both enjoying the teenage years! Great news that you had a great Christmas!

Cecily, it was! I saw your post, looks like yours was really fantastic, too! I love how you look for and find the beauty! It is inspiring!


Leslie, thanks so much! You are so right, these days will pass all too soon!

hugs,
Maria

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What Does it Mean Anyway? "Free to Fly"...

Well, it's like this: Here are some of the Webster's Dictionary definitions of Free: a : having the legal and political rights of a citizen b : enjoying civil and political liberty c : enjoying political independence or freedom from outside domination d : enjoying personal freedom : not subject to the control or domination of another2 a : not determined by anything beyond its own nature or being : choosing or capable of choosing for itself...having a scope not restricted by qualification 7 a : not obstructed, restricted, or impeded ...Now, here are some of the Webster's Dictionary definitions of Fly:1 a : to move in or pass through the air with wings b : to move through the air or before the wind or through outer space c : to float, wave, or soar in the air ... a : to take flight ...6 : to work successfully ...Examples which apply from Websters: fly high : to be elated - fly in the face of or fly in the teeth of : to stand or act forthrightly or brazenly in defiance or contradiction of

What does this mean in my life? This means that in life we are meant to be free. While historically mankind has not always enjoyed the opportunity to fully appreciate what that means, we are so indescribably fortunate as to live in a time of the greatest spiritual, physical, financial and political freedom ever known. Freedom doesn't come cheap, nor does it come easy. But the best things in life don't come that way do they? As I write this I am struck by how this sounds like a political statement, and for me this is much more of a spiritual thing, but, same goes for that (political that is). Freedom doesn't come easy. And it's worth whatever fight you have to make to overcome in your life in order to live a life that succeeds. Now the questions is - what is success for you? What is your standard? In my mind what is needed is a definite target - because you can't hit and maintain a moving target. A stable, rock-solid, anchor with no variable, yet multi-faceted. Something pure, just and worthy. If you look at any web page of news you can see that our society is certainly lacking in this area. What a great time to live as a rebel! Nowadays to be a rebel, all you have to do is be willing to engage in the battle of life, while anchored to Christ!