The Christmas Gift

The manger stays empty until Christmas Eve.

As economic times are tough, I have had a real challenge of figuring out about what gifts I might be able to afford. There is just no way to be able to do the usual extended family Secret Santa gift exchange this year. The family vehicle needed repairs that cost more than our Christmas gift-giving budget would have been.

So, I have had a chance to think even harder about the really important aspects of Christmas being so much more than pretty presents under the tree.

I want to share with you a family tradition that we have had for several years. Front and center under our family Christmas tree is placed a small manger. We place raffia straw in it and it sits that way until Christmas Eve. The last thing that I do before going to bed on Christmas Eve is to take a baby doll and swaddle the doll in burlap and lay it in that manger. THAT is the greatest gift of all.  That reminder greets our family when we desend upon the tree Christmas morning.

Emmanuel, God with us…. what a wonderful gift! To know that God gave His only son so that we may be called His children forever, if only we accept Him as our Savior. We were in such great need when we were dead in our sins. And now, as we celebrate with the lights of the season, the Light of the World has come. We have received the greatest gift of all!

There is no greater gift that I could wish for you my friend than that of Jesus Christ the Savior. Do you have Him? If not, He is waiting to be invited to be your Savior and Lord. Once you have received that gift, what more could you possibly desire?

When it comes to the very real human feelings of sadness that I cannot just go out and buy some things that I know would make my friends and family happy to unwrap on Christmas morning; I just acknowledge that I am sad. But, then I think back to that wonderful traditional claymation video that used to be shown every Christmas season on television called “The Little Drummer Boy”.

The little drummer boy was extremely poor and had absolutely no gift to give to the baby Jesus. However, he was able to play his drum for Him….  par rup up pum pum…rup up pum pum…rup up pum pum.  And then, the baby Jesus smiled at him. How cool is that?  Just a fictional story, perhaps, yet it is true that Jesus doesn’t require anything from us other than our desire to have a relationship with Him. Everything else that we do from that point on will bring honor to Him as we get to know Him more and obey what He teaches.

Merry Christmas!

The Anticipation of Advent

Our family is in the middle of celebrating one of our favorite Christmastime traditions.  In 1994 I made a lovely discovery at a local discount store of 4 ceramic figurines that I used to create our family Advent Wreath.

These 4 figures sit around the perimeter of a wreath with accompanying colored candles that we light in 4 consecutive Sunday nights before Christmas.  Then on Christmas Eve we light all of them and the center white candle which is next to a babe in a manger that I also created out of clay bake and some matchsticks and straw.

Week One: Mary — an angel came to Mary and announced to her that God was going to use her to give birth to the Savior. The Virgin would give birth.

Week Two: Angel — angels were used by God to announce to Mary and Joseph  (and later to the shepherds) that Mary would give birth to a baby boy that they were to name Jesus for He would be the Savior. Angels are messengers of God.

Week Three: Shepherd — While shepherds watched their flocks by night, angels came to the lowly shepherds to invite them to come behold the baby born in the stable. The darkness of the night was penetrated by such bright light as the Glory of the Lord shone into the night to make the great announcement.

Week Four: Wise Men/Kings — Wise men sought out the promised Messiah, they had used knowledge and prophecy to seek Him. When they did finally come face to face with the Savior as a toddler, they presented Him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

Gold was the Gift given by Melchior, a king of Arabia. He is said to have been the oldest of the Three Kings.

Frankincense was the Gift given by Balthazar, a king from Saba – present day southern Yemen. Frankincense is resin from the dried sap of the Boswellia tree – a tree that has grown on the craggy slopes of the Arabian Sea for thousand of years. In ancient times, Frankincense and Gold were equally valuable.  Frankincense is harvested by making slits in the bark of the tree and letting the resin slowly bleed out and harden into white “tears”of Frankincense  The primary use of Frankincense is the same today as it was in ancient times: it is a very strong incense with a sweet aroma that is used today in religious services.

-The Gift given by Caspar, a king from Tarsus – present day Southern Turkey. At the time of Christ, the world’s finest Myrrh came from Southern Arabia and it is generally thought that this was the origins of Caspar’s gift.  Myrrh is resin from the Commiphora tree and is harvested by cutting slits in the bark of the tree from which Myrrh resin hardens into dark red crystals. In ancient times, Myrrh was among the most valuable substances known and, at the time of the birth of Christ, it was worth seven times its weight in gold. It can be used as an incense or it can be ground into a powder and mixed with oils to make a balm or processed into an oil. In ancient times, myrrh was used in the mummification of the Pharos in Ancient Egypt and to anoint kings.

Christmas Eve: The Babe in the Manger – Emmanuel, “God with Us: …The promised Messiah was not born in a palace but in a lowly manger.

“Behold I bring you good news of great joy for all the people:
to you is born this day in the City of David a Savior, who is Christ, the Lord –[Luke 2:10,11]

So, each week before Christmas our family gets to focus on what the true meaning of Christmas is all about. It isn’t just about baking cookies, hanging lights and decorations, or buying presents. Our celebration of Christmas is a time in which we really look at the greatest gift of all. The birth of a Savior to save us from our sins, from a God who literally reached down into time to give us a way to have a relationship with Him.

Merry Christmas everyone. May you receive the greatest gift of all. And if you already have, may you relish it all the more in this season of Advent. For even when the celebration of the Advent of Christmas is over, we still have the anticipation of the return of our Savior.

Take My Life

I have chronic pain and chronic fatigue which means I quite often am not allowed by my body to do what “normal” people can do. I understand what the apostle Paul said about buffeting his body, as I regularly must force myself to keep moving when my body literally wants to shut down. Lately, the fatigue has really brought my daily functioning to a prolonged low.

I’m reminded that God uses even me as a “weaker vessel”. Not that I would chose to be weak and unable to be more productive by man’s standards. No way! Like the Apostle Paul asking to have his “thorn in the flesh” removed, God has chosen to not miraculously remove my affliction. Maybe it is to protect me from the sin of pride through accomplishment in my own power. Whatever the reason, I have seen how God can use me this way; flaws and all.  For I KNOW it is nothing that I am bringing to the table. It is truly ALL God.

As it says in the Bible: 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 (NASB)  ⁹And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness ” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.¹⁰Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.”

One of my all-time favorite attitude adjuster verses is Phil.4:8-9.
“Whatever things a true, honorable, righteous, pure, lovely, of good repute, excellent or worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things.”
I do hope I quoted that correctly, I have memorized it by using the memory minder “THoRP L GREWP”.

So, when I get discouraged by a situation, or set of circumstances, I purpose in my heart to look for the good. It IS there somewhere. I run through the list and go treasure hunting.

I want to end today’s post with some words from a favorite hymn called Take My Life and Let It Be “Take my life and let it be; consecrated, Lord, t0 Thee. Take my moments and my days, let them flow in ceaseless praise, let them flow in ceaseless praise.

I may not have much, but what I do have is all yours, Lord!

Fire Burning Love

My friend Gabe voiced his concerns about some of the larger Christian organizations of the nation drawing large crowds with uber-celebrity type people. Also, the idea that maybe too much time was being spent on being a good “leader”. This made me think of a worldly, success-based motivation behind the meetings. So I understood Gabe’s frustration. To view Gabe’s original post, click here. The following is my response:

Hmmm… Gabe Dear… me thinks that you are noticing the trend of many “Christian” organizations, churches included (sadly) that are taking the eyes off of the flame of the candle in an effort to reinvent the candle stick. What ’style’ is the most attractive,” becomes more widely discussed than “do we need to trim the wick,” or “is the wind so turbulent as to endanger blowing out the flame?” Worse yet, in my opinion, is how we can get so caught up in the externals that we ‘douse the flame’ with an unloving or cynical attitude toward those that are different from ourselves.

Maybe we are not even striking the match, quenching the Spirit when we do not follow the Spirit’s leading to take the initiative and speak out or otherwise demonstrate God’s hand at work in the lives of others. It might be too uncomfortable or embarrassing for us to knock on a door or pose a question. What might they think of us? That sounds a bit like that old fire-extinguisher ‘Pride’ trying to get rid of the flame of Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
“BURN ON,” I say! And how can I keep that flame burning brightly if I don’t keep it stoked with the Word of God! God’s Word is my delight… like honey…”YOUR WORD is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path,” Ps. 119:105, If I am to let my “light so shine before men” from a hilltop and not under a basket, I believe that I must daily keep in close communion with God.

As I draw closer to Him, THEN I will naturally have a testimony flow from that. “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God, THEN all these things will be added. . .”. What makes me a better ‘leader’ is that I train myself to be a better “follower.” It goes against our sinful, selfish nature, but, Jesus Himself spoke of the need for us to serve others. At the time He was saying it, He was washing His disciples feet. So who am I following? God or man? Now, THAT is the question.

All the fire references that have popped up in this comment are as a result of my having just re-listened to “Burning Down the House” by Talking Heads. I associate my passion of following God and being filled with the Holy Spirit with the visual image and analogy of fire. And that song popped into my head.

So I went and looked at the lyrics. Some of the words in that song speak to personal agenda getting in the way. . . is my house in order… am I trying to do things my own way with the latest and greatest techniques.. getting all worked up into a frenzy and then burning my own house down in an inferno. Thanks, but no thanks.

Give me the comfort of knowing that God’s fire is at the center of my home, bringing warmth and comfort to my family and friends, as well as any strangers who chose to partake in hospitality. As long as the fire is contained properly in the firebox beneath the mantle… as long as I adhere to what I know to be the correct way to handle and care for the fire, I have nothing to fear. By simply doing what I have learned to be correct I am able to be protected from the winter chill, AND rejoice in sharing that warmth with others. Link to Burning Down the House Lyrics by Talking Heads
Link to Burning Down the House Song

Yes, it is cold outside. But, we have been given a wonderful fire in our home. Would you like to come in and join us?

The Internet Mission Field

Though it may not be what first what comes to mind as an evangelical mission field, the Internet has proven to be one of the biggest mission fields that is ripe and ready for harvest, that can be reached without gathering up monetary support.

I have been blessed to have been able to complete a course at Crossroads Bible College of Indianapolis which was entitled “New Media for Urban Change”. This was an innovative course in which students were introduced to “the Digital Divide”, methods in which people learn and are taught, as well as utilizing the ever-expanding tools on the World Wide Web.

Technology is reaching out to us across the internet with many tools and programs that are Open Source (available for free) which allow us to, in turn, reach out to others with the Gospel of Jesus Christ!!

My course instructors Pastor Bryan Hudson, Hosea Baxter of Crossroads Bible College, and Neil Cox did an excellent job of awakening the “monster” inside of me. I mean monster, in a good way, as I was devouring all that they taught and actually applying it as we went.

Today I came across an article written by Dan Henrich called “Internet Evangelism for the 21st Century.” If all goes well you can view by clicking HERE.

It has now become easier for me to reach others for Christ while not being so limited by physical limitations. The time of day, physical location of the other party/parties are not even a problem in us growing each other in Christ, IF… and here’s the big one, IF we both have a computer and access to the internet.

As computer technology continues to progress to the point where many people are carrying around mini computers in their hands, I believe the access to devices will finally become more accessible. Likewise, the costs of obtaining a computer/device will go down and then to, the free use stations at libraries and many internet cafes will allow even the poorer of the society to take part.

That is why I so enjoy being an active member of Ask Anything Saturdays which takes place at the Unleavened Bread Cafe at the corner of 30th and Central, in downtown Indianapolis. Here, just anyone can come into the cafe for some good breakfast and on Saturdays (between 10 am and 1 pm) I and a few other community servants, will help people with finding out whatever they want to know by using the internet.

We help people who are afraid of the computer, but must use one to apply for a job or set up an e-mail account. We introduce people to the internet and the many tools available online for free. And, most importantly of all, we introduce strangers to the Lord Jesus Christ or lift up the brothers and sisters of the body who need encouragement and prayer as well as some hands-on assistance.

Question of the Week: What’s your mission?

A new friend of mine is inspiring me to blog more. She has challenged me with a question of the week to take place on Mondays. So here is the first one. “What is your mission?”

I am going to answer that for myself, sharing it with you on this blog, then ask you to either comment with your own answer or giving a link to the answer on your blog. This exercise should challenge our minds and our motivations, while allowing us to share our life experiences and lessons for the benefit of all.

For me, personally, my “Mission” is to become a more Godly woman while sharing the love of God with others. It is a mission of eternal importance. That translates into my NEW IDENTITY … I have an internet and missionary identity of Ellen5e.

That’s it “Ellen(five)’E'”. Ellen is my birth given name. The Five ‘E’s are what God has revealed to me as key to what I am to focus on while using my God-given talents of communication through art, music, photography, word and deed.

The Five E’s are:
1) EXALT God — worshiping, praising, proclaiming God’s goodness
2) EQUIP the Saints — study the Word, full armor of God, learn new skills & pass on what I learn
3) EDIFY the Body — help fulfill needs, build up and encourage
4) EXAMINE myself — strive to keep myself in line with God’s plan
5) EVANGELIZE the World — take the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the World.

So I use these five “E”s to gauge whether I am making the best use of my time. It’s sort of like a shortcut to help me remember what I believe are the goals of my earthly mission.

Well, that’s my “mission”. Now, would you be kind enough to share your mission with me? I’d really enjoy hearing what drives you forward.

That is your mission, should you choose to accept it! This message may self destruct in ten seconds… nine… eight ….