The Merry Christmas Characters

Merry Christmas! I know it is not quite Christmas, or maybe when you're reading this it is even after Christmas, but I wan tot look at the characters of the Christmas narrative and thin about what they went through that first Christmas.

Let's start with Mary.

Mary groaned as another contraction hit her weary body. Her and Joseph had traveled all day to get here and now they didn't even have a descent room to birth Jesus.
Mary bit her lip as she watched Joseph slowly clean out an old manger he'd found in the back of the old stable they were in. Every so often his eyes would flicker up at her and he'd try and smile. But Mary knew that look. It was his 'fake' smile. When he really smiled it lit up his eyes and-
"Oh!" Mary groaned as she rolled to her side. This wasn't how she had imagined Jesus' birth. She'd imagined her mother being there or at least a midwife. She'd imagined women singing and celebrating a new life. Would I have gotten that? she wondered as the pain lessened around her stomach. Very few of the women in the village of Nazareth even spoke to her anymore, since her baby stomach had started to show. Everyone was whispering about who the father was. Was Joseph the baby's true father? Or was Mary a whore?If only they knew! If only God would open their eyes! This is Messiah! I think even I forget that sometimes. When the angel had come to her, when he told her she would be mother of Messiah, she was shocked. She knew, of course, that it would require sacrifice. Her reputation, her family, maybe even Joseph.
Mary smiled up at him as he came over and squeezed her hand.
"Are you going to be alright?" His tired eyes studied her.
"I'll be fine, Joseph. Women have babies every day. And if God told me I would bare Messiah, Jesus, then I will bare him. Think about it. We know I'll make it through we know God is with us. He's right here." She patted her belly and then squeezed Joseph's hand hard as a stronger, more painful contraction assaulted her body.
"I think ... I need to ....push!"
~ ~ ~
Imagine being that frightened, young girl. I'm seventeen this Christmas and I can't imagine going through with being the mother of Messiah. Scholars peg Mary at being anywhere from fourteen to eighteen when she had Jesus. Think about that? Are you ready to be a parent? Are you ready to be ridiculed and scoffed at for having a baby out of wedlock? Back then it was anything but the norm. Women could be killed if found to be with child without being married. So Mary's gentle, "I am the Lord's servant. May it be to me according to your will," was a big deal.

But it wasn't just Mary who's life was a struggle that night. Let's look at another person who was there that night. 

Joseph. 

"He's is a little miracle, Mary." Joseph placed Jesus in Mary's arms, brushing a strand of sweaty hair away from his wife's forehead. "I can't believe he's here."
"I know." Her tired eyes glowed with joy, "Praise be to God! His salvation is here."
Joseph marveled at Mary. His wife was so strong for one so young. How had he ever thought of leaving her? Thank you, Father God. Thank you for Mary.
Joseph laid an arm around his wife and she snuggled close, her eyes slipping shut. It had been a rough labor. Not to mention the journey to Bethlehem from Nazareth. as he watched his slipping wife and the little Jesus, Joseph wondered why God had chosen him to be the earthly father of Messiah. I'm just a carpenter. I know nothing of kings. Why did you chose me to be Jesus' father. I'm humbled God, but I'm terrified I'll mess it up. Mess him up. Joseph thought back to the Angel that had told him to take Mary to be his wife. God had shown him the way then. Not doubt he'd show him again and again.
~ ~ ~
And God did. God saved Jesus from Herod thru Joseph. God showed Joseph when it was time to go home. I believe God helped Joseph to raise Jesus.
Joseph no doubt felt he was an insignificant part of Jesus' story. That he wasn't worthy to raise Messiah. I don't know for sure, but I know I'd feel that way. But I believe Joseph's story is a lesson for us all. No matter who you are, what you've done or what you will do, God can use you! You are part of his story and no matter what, he can always us you.

Now, this is a character that isn't necessarily in the Bible, but I wan to look at him because he is often though of when we read the part, "There was no room in the inn."
Innkeeper, please tell us your story.

I didn't think much of them when they pounded on my door in the dead of night. Actually, that's not true. I thought of him a lot. I was tired and grouchy and wanted sleep. I mean, an inn doesn't run itself! It's tough work! My wife was snoring and didn't flinch, the old bat, when the pounding started.
Stumbling in my sleepiness, I flung open the door and stomped out to the gate.
"What?! What are you doing pounding on my door at this hour you will wake all my guests! Go away! I have no room!"
The young man flinched at my shouting. I noticed, but the light of my lamp, how tired and stressed he looked. That's when I saw her. She was leaning against the wall. Her stomach was bulging and I could tell her time was near. I mean, my wife has had ten children. I know pregnant ladies, alright!?
I dropped my gaze. "No room." I repeated as I slammed the gate in his face.
Walking slowly back to bed, I felt my conscience tickle me.
You could have found room. You could have given then your room!
I stopped and looked back at the gate. I could have offered them something!
"Aye aye aye!" I sighed as I lay down next to my wife.
"Who was at the door, David?" she asked, rolling over to study my face.
"I don't know, woman! I don't get the name of every vagabond pounding on the door and asking for a room! It was just a young couple."
"Ack! The poor dears! Where did they go?"
"I don't know. I heard him mutter something about a stable. She was near her time and-"
My wife sat up quickly, "You mean to tel me you turned away a pregnant woman? David how could you?!"
"Easy, Tabatha! We have no more room!"
She sighed and flung the covers off the bed, stomping over to fling on her head dress.
"And where are you going?"
"To find that couple!"
"Good luck!" I sighed as I laid down. But the moment I closed my eyes, I saw the woman's small body, shaking from cold and pain.
Aye aye aye! Dear Father in Heaven. Who was that young lady. And why am I feeling like I made a huge mistake turning them away?

~ ~ ~ 

I think we've all had an innkeeper moment. We're at the end of our rope and someone else comes knocking on our door, asking us to give up something we don't have. Time, money, maybe even our *gasp* comfort? And we slam the door in their faces. 

I think we can learn something from this character, even if he isn't in the biblical account. We can learn that, no matter what, we should help those who need it. Not just at Christmas, but all throughout the year. For, "Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares." (Hebrews 13:2) 

But truly the greatest character was Jesus. He came as a babe to save the world. Heaven's perfect lamb. He came to die on a cross for me, for you, for everyone. Never forget that. And as Linus from Charlie Brown put it, "That's what Christmas is all about Charlie Brown." 

Praying for God to bless each person who reads this this Christmas season! 
Have a very Merry Christmas everyone!

Here We Are and Here We Stay!

Guys ... we made it!

It took forever. It was stressful and hard.

But, boy, is it worth it!

To finally be here, to start building relationships on this adventure, to be where God wants us and know without a doubt that we are meant to be here...I can't do it justice.

But is the devil ever hitting our house hard. He doesn't want us to be functioning the way we can. Tempers are short, the little ones are getting into everything (and that includes coloring the dog) and life is still crazy! Please continue to pray for us!

But being where God wants ... goodness ... nothing can compare!

I wanted to share a little about our new town and home in this post. 

Aledo is a little town, 3700 people the sign says when you enter. The town of Pride and Progress, it looks like something straight out of Andy Griffith. In short, it's adorable! :)

The town is so safe, Mom lets me go walking by myself with no worries and it is so fun to walk up and down the streets and enjoy this peaceful little town.

My family and I went to the school Winter concert and I was shocked. Not only where they an amazing choir and band, (over 100 kids are in the two bands. That makes up one-forth of the student body) but they sang the Hallelujah Chorus at the end of the choir performance! In a public school! It absolutely floored me! 

The house was built in the 1880's and is so cool! My room has one of the smallest closets, but it has the attic stair case! The house has a servant staircase, and let me just say this now. THANK YOU! Thank you to the poor servants back in the day who climbed those stair uncountable times. They are so stinkin' steep! I almost fell the other day and had a mini heart-attack, cause boy would that hurt! 

There is beautiful wood work all through the house as well as a large kitchen and separate dining room. 

I am so blessed to have met three wonderful new friends: Gabby, Damon and Anna. They are all major Whovians like me and we love discussing all things superhero, Star Wars, Doctor Who and Lord of the Rings. 

God has brought us through so much and I know he is going to continue to bring us through much, much more. 

Thank you God, for this adventure. I know I've doubted. I know I will still to doubt sometimes. But you have me. You've never let go. I am where you want me. Use me how you will. I love you Lord. 

Amen.

The Balancing Act

So ... enough about Bilbo. How about real life?

Yeah, about that. I feel like I'm juggling a million things and I can't do it anymore. The stress of moving six hours from home, even for a God filled adventure, is threatening to drive this whole family mad, bonkers, crazy, ect. ect. and all of the above. 

I know God didn't say it would be easy. In fact, he makes it pretty plan that it'll be anything but!

In this world you will have troubles...

John 16:33a

  

Yeah, about that God! Am I ever living through that! Thanks for the encouraging little peptalk! I really could use a helpful little pick me up! Not whatever that was!

Oh. You're not finished!? Well then, by all means!

...but take heart,. I have over come the world. 

John 16:33b

Wow! So my problems really aren't that big to God! And even though things seem to be spinning out of control and Mom is stressed and Dad is upset over Mom's stress and Riah can sense the stress and is clinging to Mom, therefore making her even more stressed and the other four kids are screaming and whining and anything and everything that can possibly go wrong does ... *GASP* 

God has overcome the world! He is in control!

When life stinks to the umpteenth degree for you, when a mom has cancer, when a daughter is in the hospital in critical care from a horrible car crash, when a brother and son dies, when you've given everything and still feel unless, when you're running from the past and yet it keeps haunting you...*GASP*

God has over come the world. He is in control! 

No matter the problem or what your facing...

He is in control.

No matter the situation or the stress...

He is in control. 

Isn't that so encouraging?! He has the whole world in his hand. He never let's go. And even when we are on the edge of a cliff, balancing what the world has thrown at us, His hand is there, keeping our foot steady. 

God, thank you for holding me in the Balancing Act. You never let go. you have overcome the world so no matter my troubles, no matter the pain of the moment, no matter anything, you are holding me! Thanks for that wonderful reassurance! 

Amen.   

 

Struggling to Understand

So. You're on God's adventure. You've said, "I know you want me on this adventure, Lord. But...now what?"

I feel like that is a question we always ask. What's our next step? Why are we on this journey if we don't even know where He is leading?

Again, I draw on Bilbo. Picture the scene from the movie where the Company has set up camp for the night in the old abandoned farm house. Gandalf, in a huff at Thorin, has gone off for a moment of great counsel. (With himself of course.)

Suddenly, as Bilbo takes Fili and Kili their supper, two of the horses are mysteriously missing. In that moment Bilbo must make a choice: will he help Fili and Kili with the horses and risk injury from giant trolls? Or head quietly back to the camp without another word?

Of course he does help them and ends up getting himself and the whole Company in a pickle. 

I bet when Bilbo was standing there, these thoughts were going through his head. 
 Oh boy. I have to actually play the burglar Gandalf made me up to be. I'm not ready for this decision. Where is Gandalf when I need him? He put me here, why isn't he helping me? 

I often feel like Bilbo. Thrust into a conundrum with out the help of my "Gandalf". Where is God anyways when I need him? Why isn't He making clear the next step?

Well, he's a lot like Galadriel in the third movie. Gandalf, is in the heart of Dol Guldur. Near death, he calls on the elven maid to asist him. She said at Rivendal, that if he called on her, she would come. And come Galadriel does, helping to defeat the Nazguls and saving Gandalf. 

God is a lot like that. He is simply waiting for us to call on him. Like it says in Matthew 7:7  "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." (KJV)

God is simply waiting for us to call on him. Unlike Gandalf, God doesn't take breaks from our adventure. He is with us every step of the way. He is guiding our step and helping us to overcome every hurtle in our way. 

Proverbs 3:5-6 says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your path straight." (emphasis added)
 God knows our struggles. He wants to come in and help us if we ask.  He wants to make our way clear. We need to simple trust him and his plan. 

I'm not perfect, okay? I have been struggling with this very thing all day today. I don't understand why God is putting my family through this awful move or why he is making it so hard. But I do know I am called to be right here even when I feel like screaming and kicking and killing everyone in my family. I know I need his strength. And I know I need to ask for it. If you're struggling with anything right now, please join me in the prayer below. The attitude of you're heart is the most important thing. Ask God, and he will help you see.

God, help me to trust you even when I don't understand why this is happening. Help me to be an example of you even when I'm stressed and uncomfortable. Lord, your ways are perfect. Help me to trust you in everything all the time.

Amen.   

Off We Go ... Slowly!

So, we're starting to pack. And it's taking forever! It's a wait and the devil's having fun making me doubt. 

Is it really worth it?

I kinda feel like Bilbo. On the pony. In the rain with allergies. Looking for any excuse to turn around and run for the comforts of hearth and home. I feel like he is thinking, This is miserable. I forgot my pocket handkerchief and I'm surrounded by loud and rowdy dwarves. WHAT WAS I THINKING?! And yet, the adventure is really going to be worth it. We know it, even if Bilbo can't yet.

I guess that excites me and terrifies me all at the same time. Because, even though it's slightly boring and feels so awful, I know it will get better. God knows, a lot like the viewers or readers of the Hobbit know, that it will be worth it. And yet it could (and probably will) get a whole lot worse! 

It sure did for Bilbo. I mean, getting caught by trolls, almost killed by orcs, sliding into the goblins kingdom ... the list goes on and on! So ... I guess I shouldn't be complaining. 

And even though all that junk happened to him, he was able to look back on it and smile! Cause while it was terrifying and life-threatening, it was worth it. 

And that's what I want to do. Be able to look back at this miserable transition of moving and be truly thankful it happened. It's helping me get going on this adventure. And come ran or shine, orc or elf, Gollum or Smeagol, I want to be the person who says, "Use me, Lord. You've put me here for a reason and I'm going to follow you ... even through the waiting." 

And I guess that's when the real adventure begins!   

Welcome to the Adventure!

My most favorite part in the Hobbit trilogy is where the dwarves are showing up at Bilbo's door. Bilbo is super flustered and bothered by this intrusion in his normal, food-filled routine. When everyone is there, Gandalf tells him about the adventure and their need for his ... ahem, burgling talent. Bilbo tells them all that his is not a burgaler that they have the wrong hobbit and should go on their merry way to the Misty Mountian without him.
But Gandalf knows that this is what Bilbo needs. It's exactly the kind of thing this food loving, non-adventuring Hobbit is destined for - adventure. Gandalf tells Bilbo this, that his family is destanded for adventure. Bilbo responds that he just "can't go running off into the blue!"
And yet ... not ten minutes later in the movie, he does. He drops everything and runs off with Thorin Oakenshield and  Co. And while Bilbo has a lot of hardships, endures things his kinfolk can't begin to imagine and comes home with the burden of the real world, he is a better hobbit for having lived the adventure Gandalf called him on.

     
God calls us to the adventure, too. And it's a lot like Bilbo's. It's not always going to be fun and full of wonderful surprises and that's okay. In fact, God doesn't calls us to all fun, but he does call us to an adventure of lifetime. 

I know. You're saying, shouldn't that be of A lifetime? Nope. Lifetime. Our whole life is one giant adventure story being written by our heavenly author.

Proverbs 3:5-6 says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight."
I may not understand God's plan or think his plan is right, but even so I need to trust that he knows what he's doing even when I think it sucks and I'd rather be anywhere but here. :)  

And I'm not just preaching to preach. No, my family has been on a heck of an adventure. An adventure I didn't really want to always be on, but it has turned out pretty good, even though I still don't understand where I'm going!

And I want to take a minute to share our story with you: 

When I was six years old, my dad was asked to leave his job as a Youth Pastor in my home town of Battle Creek Michigan. For a year my dad worked at the local Target. After that, he and my mom felt God calling them to join Campus Crusade for Christ (now CRU). 

Life was crazy. We'd travel raising support so we could move to Little Rock, Arkansas. But again, God had a plot twist on our life. The church we had been going to for five years was looking for a new senior pastor. A lady who was very close to me - had been the reason we stayed at the church at all - asked my dad to put in his resume. My dad was like , "Sorry, but no. No more ministry work!" and God was like, "we'll see about that!"
Then we got stuck. We couldn't raise the last $200 to head to Little Rock. We'd gain some and then lose some. And for the most part, it wasn't us. One guy later told my dad he'd felt God telling him to stop supporting us. 

So my dad put in his resume. And got the job. Life was good for another three years.
But problems have a way of arising in a church. 

I don't know all the details. I don't need too. All I know is our church split. I lost most of my friends in Youth Group. What once had been a group of nearly thirty students, got cut to me, my two best friends and the youth pastor's three daughters. 

I was not to distraught though. The people I had been hanging out with weren't the best of influences and I still had two of my closest friends in the church.
We didn't grow much in that year. In fact, you could say our church was rather dormant.
Then one of the closest men to our family during the whole church split, a man my family had started to call 'Uncle' turned around and took over the church. He poisoned people's minds. Hinted that my dad was abusive when my dad was anything but. And my best friend's dad was in on it too. They managed to blackmail my dad with his severance pay. We couldn't tell anyone what had happened for six months.
It hurt. I was angry and bitter at those stupid people. But God was working on  my heart.  We went to a summer time church at Gull Lake Ministries. One of the speakers there talked about living God's adventure. he said it might not always be fun, that to gain friends, sometimes we have to lose the ones we have, but when we live the adventure planned for us, God will reward us! I was crying so hard. This was what I needed.
My dad was offered a job in Aledo, Illinois this August. And while it will mean leaving all the awesome people here in Michigan, I know it's where God has called us.

That's the start of my adventure. It only took ten years to get it started and it's not over yet. In fact, that's the whole reason I started this Adventure Blog, to share with you what God teaches me as I head out on this new chapter of this remarkable Story called Life. God's adventure is always the best place to be.
And who knows? Like Bilbo, I might just end up change not only my life, but the life of my friends and family, too. And I think that's a pretty awesome why to start an adventure don't you?