Believing in the power of God

We went to the last playgroup meeting of the year today. There was a party atmosphere with candles and food and decorations, and everyone chatted about their holiday plans. It is hard to be away from home at this time of year. It is easy to start feeling sorry for myself. I try to fight it, but sometimes I feel so overwhelmed by life. I know that until I die, there will be imperfections in me and my house and my husband and son and in my life. So it is really pointless to be overly troubled by our (lack of) money in the bank, or what clothes I'm wearing, or what toys and activities are available to Iain, or how long it is going to take us to repay our student loans, or when and where Brian will get a full time job. But it is a struggle. That eternal perspective is so easy to lose.

And it is easy to feel that God doesn't understand or that he is unkind. But as I listened to the Christmas story being told to the children this morning, the true degradation of Joseph and Mary's situation struck me. What kind of a provider was Joseph in that situation? How must have Mary felt when she had to birth her child into dark and damp and muck? All the children's stories and nativity sets have bright clean stables with adoring animals surrounding the family. I haven't known the ignominy of sleeping in a barn because I have nowhere else to go, let alone giving birth in one. And that is the situation that God choose to make his advent in. How can I complain when he has generously given me more than he gave his only begotten son?

It is such a comfort to think about the humiliation of Christ and the glorious results that came from it. If God can plan such a wonderful and awesome thing as the savior of the world being born into a stable, then I can be confident that he has his plan for me well in hand too, no matter what it seems like to me at the time.

"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." 1 Cor. 1:18

"Christmas wraths"

We drove past a sign the other day advertising the selling of "Christmas wraths." It's nice to know that some people still celebrate the holidays right.

Iain's First Christmas Cookies

Iain and I baked Christmas cookies together today and we both had lots of fun. It was strange being the mom instead of the kid, but I really enjoyed the time with my son. He's one of the best gifts I've ever gotten. Anyway, here are a few pictures I snapped and a video so that everyone can share in the fun.

The first thing he did with the dough was to pop it in his mouth. Mmm. Baking is tasty!









Merry Christmas, everyone!

Christmastime is here!

We're enjoying the season here in the Douglas house. Here are a few recent photos. The first one is Brian in his awesome new hat. Does anybody know what these kind of hats are called?

And Iain enjoying the great outdoors. He insisted on wearing his Santa hat outside-- what a cutie!
Decorating our flat. We put on Christmas music and got out the tree and lights. We made snowflakes too.
And some recent Christmas themed pics that Mama took.

The God of Promise and Fulfillment

“Therefore the LORD Himself will give you a sign: Behold a virgin will be with child and bear a son and she will call His name Immanuel.” Isaiah 7:14

“The angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. And behold you will conceive in your womb and bear a son and you shall name Him Jesus’….Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be since I am a virgin?’” Luke 1:30 & 34

“But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel…” Micah 5:2

“Joseph also went from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem… in order to register along with Mary…. While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth.” Luke 2:4-6

"Thus says the LORD, ‘A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are no more.” Jeremiah 31:15

“Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he became very enraged and slew all the male children who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the magi.” Matthew 2:16

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…Out of Egypt I called My son.” Hosea 11:1

“…Behold an angel of the LORD appeared to Joseph in a dream and said ‘Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to Eygpt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to destroy Him.’” Matthew 2:13

“The Spirit of the LORD God is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners; to proclaim the favorable year of the LORD…." Isaiah 61:1-2

“ Jesus returned to Galilee… and He began teaching in their synagogues… the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written, ‘The Spirit of the LORD God is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners; to proclaim the favorable year of the LORD’ And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, ‘Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.’” Luke 4:16-21

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you: He is just and endowed with salvation, humble, and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” Zechariah 9:9

“They brought the colt to Jesus and put their coats on it; and He sat on it.” Mark 11:7

“Even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted up his heel against me.” Psalm 41:11

"Truly, truly I say to you, that one of you will betray Me.’ .…‘Lord, who is it?’ Then Jesus answered, ‘That is the one for whom I shall dip the morsel and give it to him’. So when He had dipped the morsel, He took and gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot.” John 13:21-26

“I gave My back to those who strike Me, and My cheeks to those who pluck out the beard; I did not cover My face from humiliation and spitting. ” Isaiah 50:6

“Then they spat in His face and beat Him with their fists; and others slapped Him, and said ‘Prophesy to us, you Christ who is the one who hit you?’” Matthew 26:67

“You have ascended on high, You have led captive Your captives; You have received gifts among men, even among the rebellious also, that the LORD God may dwell there.” Psalm 68:18

“And after He said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.” Acts 1:9

"Therefore it says ‘When He ascended on high, He led captive a Host of captives, and He gave gifts to men.’” Ephesians 4:8

Christmas: Headache and Hassle, or Heavenly Hope?

The below article by Jordan was published in the 12 December edition of Christian Renewal magazine.

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I love Christmas. Ok, ok, maybe you think I've been watching too much television or that the incessant holiday zeal of the profiteering marketers has gotten to me, but I like Christmas because it reminds me of biblical truth. Which is really sort of the point, isn’t it?

Do you remember the excitement you felt about Christmas as a kid? It was, as one classic holiday movie puts it, the event around which the entire “kid year” revolved.

As a child I devised all kinds of ways to count down the days to Christmas. One year, I had a Santa Claus calendar where you could glue a cotton ball to Santa's beard for every day that passed; by Christmas Day, Santa had a full beard. Another year I made paper chains and I tore off a link for every day that passed. And of course, there was always the verbal count. I drove my mother crazy with that one. Every morning I would triumphantly announce the number of days remaining until the holiday, and my poor mother would groan and shake her head, thinking of all that was still to be done.

I still love Christmas. The sights, the sounds, the traditions, the time spent treasuring family relations and meditating on the mystery of the incarnation of our Lord – it is a wonderful time of year. I always think it is a shame when we allow the commercialization of the holidays to steal our joy. We should enjoy going to a production of The Nutcracker, gazing at a beautifully lit Christmas tree in the dark, or admiring a lovely table setting and centerpiece. We can thank God for the beauty and creativity that still exist in this world, despite the sin that has tainted it.

As Christians our lives are a bit like Christmastime. It is a season of fervent anticipation of coming glory. It has an "already and not yet" quality to it. Trees are up, lights sparkle, it is Christmastime, but not yet Christmas. In the same way, Christians live in anticipation of future joy, yet we are already partakers in that joy.

But the glitter and glamour of the season is only a dim picture of what our heavenly home will be like. Unlike Christmas day, which flies so quickly away leaving behind it tired and disappointed people, there will be no end to the beauty and celebration when we are received into our future glory. There will be nothing missing and nothing broken, no disappointments, guilt, or rejection. There is no Island of Misfit Toys in heaven, because we will all be made perfect and whole, with nothing disjointed or crooked in us.

How strange and wondrous it is that in order for us to take part in the glory and joy of heaven, Christ had to endure humiliation and suffering. He is the one who felt our brokenness and rejection fully, yet we are the ones treated as perfect and beloved children of the King. We get what Christ deserves and Christ got what we deserved, and He did this out of love for His Father and love for His bride, the church.

“Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed” (Is 53:4-5).

The punishment that brought us peace – what an incomprehensibly beautiful phrase. The irony and counterpoint give the mind much to meditate on, the sheer selflessness of that kind of love brings tears to the eye. How often I forget the beauty of my salvation.

I wish that I had more of my childish eagerness back, only for the coming of the Lord. I am waiting for the penultimate event of all time. For utopia! For rest! To see the Savior's face! And how much greater will He be than any shadowy holiday, for “he will wipe away every tear from [our] eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Rev 21:4).

My prayer is that I will meditate more and more on the joy of my salvation, and that the celebration of Christmas would not be a distraction from that, but would provide new depth to those thoughts. May Christ’s bride have a daily consciousness of her coming joy and glory. Here's wishing you a Merry Christmas and a season of anticipation that lasts far past December 25th.

Read me this story, Mama!

We thought this was funny and decided to pass it along:

Just a minute ago, Iain handed Mama a new story, one he had never read before, and asked her to please read him this one!


In case you can't tell, it's a map of Glasgow. :-)