December 14, 2004
When the Father calls your Name Newsletter #63
“It was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us! And so, as Tiny Tim observed, "God Bless Us, Every One!”
“And she will bear a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who
will save His people from their sins.”
What do you call Santa's helpers?
Subordinate Clauses.
Special Link: http://www.christmas.com/
Christmas around the world!
An early November snow had blanketed our yard during the night and we awoke amazed to see this premature intrusion of winter. When Isaac our four-year-old son woke up and saw the surprise snowfall he had an interesting observation. Wiping the sleep from his eyes he asked; “Where are the presents?”
“What presents honey?” My wife replied.
“The Christmas presents, it snowed, it must be Christmas!” Isaac exclaimed. He saw a sign and fully expected wonders (presents) to follow and it spoke volumes about his childlike faith.
Christmastime is signs and wonders time. I believe there are angel songs still filling the sky with the promise of the Messiah, wishing for a human ear to receive the Good News. A grand story has swept us up in its plot and wishes for us to become more than spectators. Flowing from the heart of God is an epic tale with a story line full of signs and wonders. A faithful husband takes his young pregnant bride on a long journey to a small Jewish town. She gives birth to a child who will someday change the world with his love. Mix in angels, shepherds, wise men, an evil king, some roman soldiers, wild dreams and an escape to Egypt and you got a story for the ages.
The Father has set the stage and eagerly invites us into
the story to share in the miracle of
creating life-changing events. When we accept the part we let signs and wonders
fill our own story as well. Like the Magi we can open our treasure and present
them to our Lord in the form of
serving others.
“And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his
mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they
presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.” Mat 2:11
The Greek word for treasures is thesauros (thay-sow-ros’), which means the place in which good and precious things are collected and laid up. A storehouse of precious items, a warehouse stocked and filled. I believe we are “storehouses”, filled to the brim with valuable gifts ready to be “presented”. There are many practical, financial and talented ways to bring a little signs and wonders into someone’s life. They are reflections of the giving nature of God himself and the natural outpouring of the blessings we receive.
This Christmas, my family committed ourselves to give a certain sum of money away. As we playfully considered each opportunity to bless someone or some charity, we discovered how much joy it brought us! My oldest daughter Sarah has choreographed a Nativity dance/story to bless those who come to our church celebration, my son Josh, is preparing a song to be played for his family on Christmas day. These types of signs and wonders are memory builders—connecting my kids to THE STORY—that God so love the world…He gave!
Christmas is a sign, an opening to join our story with this wondrous one, to stop being an understudy and get in the play.
Blessings,
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mailing list, please just drop me a line. You won’t hurt my feelings…honest!
cookingham@juno.com
When the Father Calls Your Name Newsletter Copyrighted 2004