Does it feel weird?
Sort of ~ but not as much as you might expect. What I have noticed is how much even such a small shift has made a big shift in our focus. It is far less fraught making because our emphasis is on the right things. Mostly. I think. Sort of.
Let me explain. Yesterday Dearest had a late dental appointment. Knowing I was the driver I had planned a simple meal of soup & toasted sandwiches & Star made chocolate pudding for desert. There were orange sweets set out in a bowl. The gifts were pre~wrapped. The candles are staying out. I marked our bible passages for the men to read & we were done. I have multiple nights for doing a variety of different things so one quieter night does not affect the overall whole badly.
What have I noticed? My kids are really engaging. Dino is older of course but even Star, who is at that reluctant stage, is joinging in & enjoying it ~ & she has been most adamant that we not ditch Christmas. The cats have joined in. Julie has Hallelujah Hounds ~ we have Christian Cats. Seriously. Both cats park themselves in the midst of the doings, ears pricked, all attentive cattiness until we are done. Then they suddenly disappear.
What are we learning? What a question! I forget, often, what a lot of strangeness I hold in my head & can take it for granted that my children also know all about these things. They do not. Not even close. I think this is the first time we have systamatically gone through the biblical covenants. What an eye~opener for the kids as they follow God's promises through from beginning to end! Personally I have a sense of expectation building because I know what is to come & by the 6th covenant you are at that point where you know 6 promises have been fulfilled, 2 are yet to come ~ & that is seriously exciting, folks!
Why? So many reasons. Partly our family is dispersed all over the world: Liddy is in Chile; Theo is up North; Jossie is in Europe. Partly the Lord & I had a discussion about some of this several years ago because what is there to say about Christmas that hasn't been said ad nausaeum? And the Lord showed me something I have never forgotten ~ as you don't when it is the Lord doing the telling. Christmas is not about babies, angels, shephards, wise men. It is about the cross. The sole reason & purpose for Christ coming into the world was that He might journey towards the cross. And ever since I have found the trivialisation of Christmas difficult to bear. Do you know, have you studied, what it was like to be crucified? Read a medical diagnosis sometime. It is horrifying. Completely & utterly apalling.
Is it right? For us, yes. Each day we have come under spiritual attack ~ & each day God's grace has been extended because there is a blessing attached to walking in the old paths. There is a fulfillment of the promise Christ brings as the New Coventant merges with the Old & with it the peace that passeth understanding.
6 comments:
What a blessing to be experiencing Christmas as you are, Ganeida. I've no doubt your family will remember the "onset" for the rest of their lives, and even Star may someday tell her little ones about the year Grandma helped make the meaning of Christmas clearer. I'm yearning inside as I read what you've shared. And I also feel somewhat famous now that our Edith and Mildred have appeared in print on your blog as the true Hallelujah Hounds they are. :) Blessings on you and yours, Ganeida!
Julie: it is peaceful & unrushed & I so appreciate that because so much of our year is so fraught. lol
I would love Hallelujah Hounds ~ if it didn't actually require me to own dogs! :D I'll just hace to accepr *Carolling Cats*
Love this post.
The response of cats to worship - yes! I've seen it in several places :0)
There's a hymn by Elizabeth Cosnett with a line I love that makes the link: "Our profit counts as loss when earthly values fall before the manger and the cross" http://www.oremus.org/hymnal/c/c010.html
And I love that picture of you :0)
Ember: Star snuck the pic on one of our hiking & camping trips. The others had their heads in a rock pool studing crays [eeeew!] While I was off with the piskies. ☺
And I'm so pleased others have witnessed the response of animals to prayer & worship. MY cats get beside themselves when the presence of Jesus is really strong with someone.
Love the line you quoted too.
Oh Ganeida,
I'm sure we are sisters! We are so alike in many ways. And like you, I am little tolerance for all things Christmassy because in truth it is about The Cross. Yes, He had to be born and so on... but the purpose of His birth is God coming to earth as flesh, to do the work of the Cross. For us. His earthly birth is one small part of the most beautiful love story. How can we have Christmas (the birth of a baby) without The Cross?
But enough from me about this... I promised myself to be quiet this year on the topic of Christmas ;)
Susan: I should be quiet ~ but I can't seem to help myself. So much just apalls me & I am over non~Christians wishing me a Merry Christmas. Do they even hear what they are saying? Ugh. To say nothing of what the church has done in its effort to attract the pagans. Which is exactly the downhill slide the church has taken to try & attract more people. It is never a good direction to travel in. Yep, I can get up a head of wind without hardly trying! ☺
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