LAUGHABLE

“Elmo” has been a part of our household for more than three decades. He's had a few battery “transplants,” but remains a dependable source of laughter. Just tickle his tummy. HA HA HA HA HA.....He's a good way to pull a grandson out of a funk. Ditto, me.

I'm not saying that a toy is my path to joy. Far from it. To be honest, this toy reminds me of a piece of art--the one in Proverbs 31 that we call a portrait of a “virtuous woman.” Her resume: hard-working, resourceful, wise, kind, generous, compassionate, strong with dignity, confident, joyful. Especially her confidence and industriousness inspire me. She doesn't go around blaming people and circumstances. Bad things happen to all of us. Some keep sucking on lemons and are known as complainers. The others make lemonade, knowing the “sweetening” to make the sour tolerable will come from a close relationship with Jesus.

I've thought a lot about the phrase in verse 25, “She laughs at the future,” the word “laugh” chosen for some English translations from the Hebrew word sachaq. In our culture, that word choice can easily be misconstrued as, “Are you kidding? Can things get any worse?” But sachaq has this range of meanings: “laugh, deride, play, rejoice.” In Proverbs 8:30-31 it expresses God's delight in creating the heavens and all the earth.

This is no tickle-the-red-fuzzy-creature laugh. It's one connected to wisdom and confidence. Some Bible translations use “rejoice,” as “She rejoices in the time to come.” And there will be time to come—or at “our” time on earth to end—for God's something more. I think that's the key to unlocking this verse. This chapter's description of “The Virtuous Woman”--who is the ultimate homemaker, supportive spouse, wise mother, and part-time businesswoman--has a God-focus. She's not bitter about her circumstances, but rises above complaint to do the best she can, Quite frankly, in our culture, I think she'd shove her television in a closet and guard against time-wasters on her computer or smart phone. (I smile to think of a smart phone in a Bible-times clay house...)

Would she keep a laughing Elmo toy on the shelf? If they'd had batteries in those days, maybe. But batteries deplete. The joy-of-the-Lord has a limitless source of power.

PEACE

Some of the last buds of summer at my home were this duo or roses, one which graced the bush for a few days, and one bud nearby, ready to take its place. A few weeks after this, I pruned all our roses to prevent snow breakage. Our rose beds edge the driveway, meaning snow shoveling can damage them. But I have no other options when I wake up to a foot of snow and need to clear the driveway.

The prophet Isaiah had similar observations, though certainly not with “snow load.”

The grass withers and the flowers fall. (Isaiah 40:8a)

Well, duh. It's called the cycle of life. It works for both the plant and animal world. But the opposite is this, in the very next verse:

But the word of our God stands forever. (Isaiah 40:8b)

There's another verse in Isaiah that gets repeated exposure during the Christmas season:

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given,

And the government will be on his shoulders,

And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of his government and peace

there will be no end...(Isaiah 9:6-7)

Prophecies are glimmers of hope, reflections of God's good and just character. This one reminds us that Christmas is not just about a miracle Baby, destined to be a Savior, swaddled and put for safekeeping in a feeding trough. It's about the King of Kings, the Prince of Peace. “Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end” (v. 7).

I could be wrong—I'm not the world's greatest authority on roses—but I think the bloom I photographed is the “Peace Rose.” I didn't plan it that way, but it's a fitting illustration for our longings for the Prince of Peace—the Lord Jesus---to infuse this broken world with healing and peace. It's God's long-range plan.

Will He come Monday, which our calendar (though not historically true) assigns to the celebration of His birth? Or in about a week, when one old year bows aside to welcome the new? Only God knows. His Word tells us it will happen in the twinkling of an eye (1 Corinthians 15:52).

So yes, summer's flowers will wilt and their petals drop Their canes will blacken and die as cold sets in. But Peace, real Peace through the Prince of Peace, is in God's plan for this battered world. This is Hope worth celebrating. No presents, cards, trees, feasts, Black Fridays, or fancy decorations required. Just pure, worshiping hearts.

PINING FOR PINES

Dying--not dyed--needles

Proud of his German ancestry, at Christmastime my dad delighted in belting out that culture's legendary circa-1550 holiday song, “O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum” [O, Christmas tree, O Christmas Tree]. How fractured his German was, we kids never knew. But he sang it with gusto, typically when he brought home a tree from the local tree lot for us to decorate. Some years, by the time he went tree-shopping, just the scawny “Charlie Brown” trees were left--cheap! Besides, with enough of the family's eclectic decorations, who would discover the tree's emaciated state?

Now, in a revival of those years-ago trends, we're seeing more color-flocked trees. Excuse me, but they remind me of the current hair-dye fad that has men and women sporting “do's” in neon colors of the rainbow. Please, no garish holiday trees. Evergreens should be....green.

Sadly, some trees in my yard are exceptions, random branches turned orange by a fungal scourge called “blight.” Researching cures for that problem, I realize I'm no tree doctor. But my battle with the yard's ailing trees also makes me think twice whenever I read Psalm 1. Now, there's a tree ready for a nature's beauty pageant. It's been nourished well by sun and water. It produces great fruit and is a symbol of prosperity. In contrast would be the tree representing the ungodly, as useless as wind-blown chaff. For a Christmastime analogy, it would be a Charlie Brown tree: just a few scraggly limbs on a wimpy little cross-bar stand.

Another Biblical tree that I find hard to understand is described in Revelation 22. Just what wonder of nature could produce fruit every month (v. 2)? And have leaves full of the medicine to heal nations? With symbols so mysterious and wonderful, we'll have to wait and see until that Day.

Trust me, when that happens we won't be belting out “O Tannenbaum!” No, we'll sing wonderful hymns of praise to God. For He created this marvel called “tree.” During His tenure on earth, His Son walked among them, enjoyed their shade, picked their fruit, and used them for sermon illustrations. Oh, any tree—how lovely are thy branches as they reminder us of our Creator-Provider God!

'EBENEZER'--REVISITED

I find our local newspaper's birth announcements a primer in trendy names. I don't find my name very often, but lots of name blends and interesting spellings. But I don't come across a famous name of history and literature, which has (thanks to Charles Dickens' fiction) become synonymous with Christmas. Surely, you have heard of Ebenezer Scrooge.

For many years, I figured he got that name because “Ebenezer” rhymed with “geezer,” and he was all of that besides being a miserable, tightwad merchant who only cared for himself. Early in the story, Dickens gives this description of Scrooge:  "The cold within him froze his old features, nipped his pointed nose, shriveled his cheek, stiffened his gait; made his eyes red, his thin lips blue; and spoke out shrewdly in his grating voice." After visits from the three “ghosts” (spirits) of Christmas past, present and future, Scrooge changes his ways. He turns into a better, more generous man.

Thanks to this tale, our English language now has “scrooge” as a handy synonym for “greed” or “misanthropy.” People scoffing Christmas traditions are apt to borrow his phrase, “Bah! Humbug!” But we see little written about his first name, Ebenezer, which actually has a solid Bible story behind it.

The story begins in Israel's early history in the book of First Samuel. The Temple's “ark of the covenant,” a gold-covered box containing the tablets of the Ten Commandments and other sacred items, had been confiscated by the enemy Philistines. They transported it from Jerusalem to their territory--a bad idea. God punished them with physical misery (the NIV calls it “tumors in the groin”) and they returned the ark to a halfway point, not the Jerusalem temple. More battles ensued between the Philistines and the Israelites. In one, God intervened by sending thunder so loud and fearsome that the Philistines desperately retreated and lost the battle.

And that's where the name “Ebenezer” enters Biblical history:

Then Samuel [Israel's prophet-leader] took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far has the Lord helped us.” So the Philistines were subdued and did not invade Israelite territory again. (1 Samuel 7:12-13a)

So, yes--”Ebenezer” is a real name. My online search showed it especially popular these days among prominent citizens of Ghana! In the past, the name was shared by American and English leaders of all stripes. (1)

But what happened to that memorial stone, believed somewhere between Mizpah and Shen? Some researchers think it's one located about seven miles north of Jerusalem. (2)  But the actual stone (which could become like an idol) doesn't matter as much as the principle of this story in Biblical history. Sometimes we have to go through really tough battles. Our enemies don't carry actual swords, knives, or arrows. But they pierce us in our vulnerable spiritual places. We're left helpless, except for the sometimes surprising intervention by our Heavenly Father.

In that sense, we all can recall “Ebenezers,” or times when we relied on the rock-solid trustworthiness of God. When we are helpless and call out to Him, He hears. And later on, in time's perspective, we will be able to declare (as did the Israelites): “Thus far has the Lord helped us.” I recognize such times in my life with a few stones I keep on the window ledge in my office. Could a reminder rock be your gift to someone? Or yourself?

1) Ebenezer (given name) - Wikipedia

(2) Eben-Ezer - Wikipedia

UN-DECORATING FOR CHRISTMAS

The famed above-kitchen-sink "toe"

A family tradition as the calendar turned to “December” was retrieving our family's Christmas décor for its brief holiday “run.” That included the bin of wreaths and garlands, a long string of lights, the 40-year-old childproof creche, fireplace socks, and the fake Christmas tree and ornaments. I didn't have to hang the mistletoe: it was a year-round decoration on the ceiling above the kitchen sink.

But that was years ago. With nest-emptying and aging, and now a grandkid-toys-and-books “decor” cluttering our small home, my holiday decorating fervor faded. Last year I put up only the door wreath, creche and two socks—“mine” and “his.” My husband had only one wish on his “wish list”--to come home from the hospital after his heart attack. And he did—on Christmas afternoon.

I can't remember, but we may have shared a “welcome-back” kiss at the kitchen sink, under a sprig of mistletoe tacked there forty-some years earlier. Okay, when I was silly new bride, it was a reminder that “kissin' don't last, cookin' do.” Marrying (for the first and only time) in our mid-thirties, we had some catching up to do in that department.

With his death early this summer, I needed to make some changes. So the mistletoe came down. But not before I did a little research about this strange little “kissing” custom that seems highlighted every holiday. The brutal truth: mistletoe is a parasitic plant that latches onto a host plant and sucks the life out of it. Not very romantic! Mistletoe berries are also toxic—even can be deadly—if eaten. (That's why you never see “mistletoe jam” sold at Christmas!) In some pagan cultures, mistletoe was connected with human sacrifice. Folks in some ancient lands hung mistletoe over their doors to ward off demonic influences.

To all this, I say, “Oh, my.” I was way, way overdue to remove that ribbon-tied, withered sprig from our ceiling.

Enter new traditions. Like reaching out in quiet, small ways to those who mourn. I was touched when another recent widow started sending me 3x5 cards on which she'd printed encouraging Bible verses that were apparently meaningful to her in her loss. I clipped them to a stand below my computer screen. Four months after the flood of post-death sympathy cards, I was also encouraged by simple notes that said, “Still praying for you.” Trust me: at holidays, the grieving especially need gentle hugs and kind words,

Christmas can be such a hectic, even garish, time--hard for those pummeled by loss to endure. It's okay to counter the culture and simplify, to focus on the Light of the World more than the thousand-lights-Santa-manger yard setups.

Jesus' birth wasn't heralded by a searchlight guzzling 60,000 watts of electrical power. Heaven sent its own signal, enough for grubby, uneducated shepherds to discover the Greatest Gift. There was no mistletoe over the manger. But in that rough, manure-aroma stable, the world was kissed with God's love. We couldn't ask for anything more....

GLORY!

 A monthly story on a hymn of the faith.

Whenever Gospel musician Charles Gabriel was around Ed Card, he was boosted by the Card's joyful demeanor. It wasn't what you'd expect from a man who ran a rescue mission in St. Louis, Missouri. Yet Card was known for his ready smile and how he seemed to bubble over with the joy of the Lord. The man would explode with a “Glory!” during a sermon or prayer, and often closed his own prayers with a reference to heaven and the remark, “And that will be glory for me!” Card's joyful countenance caused others to nickname him “Old Glory Face.”

Inspired by Card's expressive faith, Gabriel combined verse and music for a hymn titled, “O That Will Be Glory,” first published in 1900. Surprisingly, one critic complained, “That hymn will never go. It has too many quarter notes.” In other words, it didn't have a catchy tune. But it definitely “caught on,” becoming one of the most popular hymns sung at large evangelism meetings from the U.S., to around the globe, including Australia and Great Britain. Before Card died, he'd learn that his Christian walk was widely recognized by Gabriel's Gospel song.

But Gabriel was far from a “one-hit” composer. More amazing, he began life in an Iowa prairie farm shanty in 1856. As a youth, he taught himself to play a small reed organ his parents bought. At age 16 he was leading singing schools. His mother discerned his unusual talent. When Gabriel told her that one day he'd write a world-famous song, she remarked, “My boy, I would rather have you write a song that will help somebody than see you President of the United States.”

Around age 30, he moved to San Francisco, Calif., to serve in a Methodist Episcopal Church. When the Sunday school superintendent asked him to come up with a missionary hymn for Easter, Gabriel composed “Send the Light.” A visiting mission representative took the hymn back East with him. Two years later, Gabriel was writing and publishing hymns full-time. Some of his well-known hymns included “Higher Ground,” “My Savior's Love,” and “More Like the Master.” He also composed the music for others' lyrics, including Civila Martin's “His Eye is on the Sparrow” and Ada Habershon's “Will the Circle Be Unbroken?”

In all, he'd edit 35 Gospel songbooks, eight Sunday school songbooks, seven books for male choruses and six for women's voices, ten children's songbooks, 19 anthem collections, 23 choir cantatas, 41 Christmas cantatas, 10 children's cantatas, and many books on musical instructions. For two decades he was part of Homer Rodeheaver Publishing Co.

Gabriel would die in 1932, in Hollywood, leaving an estimated legacy of 7,000-8,000 songs. Among his songs, “I Stand Amazed in the Presence,” which includes the line, “How marvelous! How wonderful is my Savior's love to me.”

The same singer takes all four parts in this rendition of “O that Will Be Glory”:

Bing Videos

Then, he takes all four parts of “Send the Light”:

Send the Light - YouTube

DILIGENCE

When culling my husband's desk files after his death, I came across many pocket calendars in which he kept track of his substitute teaching commitments. To me, they shouted the character quality of “diligence” in providing for our family. His elementary teaching career spanned fifty-five years, from college graduation to one year before his death at age 77. Nearly half of that was the high-paced calling of an elementary physical education teacher, the rest the challenges of substitute teaching. His “career change” within education came after we were nearly killed by a drunk driver. The trauma and stress of that accident mandated a lifestyle adjustment.

So what of the pocket calendars? When he turned to substitute teaching with its lower wages, he still had plenty of work. We'd always lived frugally, so managed. The “less-stress” was worth it. Some jobs came by the automated substitute calling system. Sometimes teachers called him directly. Other times, they'd catch him in the hall and say, “I want you for these days.” He'd whip out his pocket calendar and, if he wasn't already committed, they'd have their favorite sub.

To say he was popular would be understatement. He controlled his classes. He added fun to learning via a rolling suitcase full of games and rewards. For example, he boasted that he had special pencils only for students who were left-handed, like him. Of course, they were generic pencils—either hand—but it bonded those “lefties” to a beloved teacher.

If I could characterize his teaching life, I'd use the word “diligent.” In both sides of his career—the elementary p.e. teacher and the jack-of-all-trades (preferring elementary) substitute—he could be relied on to step in and keep a class going. Back at home, my work (besides freelance writing) was raising our two children to responsible (and academically stellar) adulthood, practicing frugality to help us live on one income, and helping care-give his ailing parents, whom we moved to a home next door to us. We were a team.

When his health started failing around age 75, and he had to phase out subbing, we were still a team. When I come across scriptures that commend diligence, I think of his example:

The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied. (Proverbs 13:4)

Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men. (Colossians 3:23)

One common thread in our backgrounds was the expectation that we would work once we reached adulthood. Before that, in childhood, we had chores that weren't fun but expected of us. Plus school was a priority. So was respecting parents and adults in our lives. (They practiced Proverbs 29:15!)That wasn't just a “parent command.” It represented the desire of God, speaking through the apostle Peter:

Make every effort to add to your faith goodness...knowledge... self-control... perseverance... godliness.. brotherly kindness... love. (1 Peter 1:5-7)

Peter added that developing these spiritual traits would keep us from being “ineffective and unproductive” in living for Christ (v. 8). Like those substitute assignments my husband wrote down in his pocket calendars, character development is a God-calling that takes diligence. Shirking it dishonors the Lord.

(1) Among websites about biblical diligence is this link: 20 Bible Verses on Diligence (adiligentheart.com)