Looking for a forever family....

Happy Epiphany. May your 2014 be filled with faith, health and joy!

The Work of Christmas: a post from my father to carry us to the Epiphany

I save posts about the blog in a special Outlook Blog inbox. I was looking to make sure I'd included everyone's posts for this year and noticed this one from my Dad. Somehow I managed to overlook it before, probably because it was dated January 13 of last year...

That was the day before my Dad was diagnosed with stage IV cancer. The day before our worlds were rocked. The day before the beginning of the end, as he was very sick and died on May 6.

But you know, this poem is so gloriously the story of my Dad and all of his quiet, behind-the-scenes works of charity and mercy. And this is so absolutely the entire reason why Christmas doesn't end on December 25.

Here is the email, in its blessed, sweet entirety.

Meggie,
I thought you'd like this prayer that Gini gave us at our last St. Vincent DePaul meeting.
Love, pOpS (yep, he copied my mEg, it was so cute!)

THE WORK OF CHRISTMAS
When the song of the angels is stilled,
When the star in the sky is gone,
When the kings and princes are home,
When the shepherds are back with their flock,
The work of Christmas begins:
To heal the broken,
To feed the hungry,
To release the prisoner,
To rebuild the nations,
To bring peace among brothers,
To make music in the heart.
-- Dr. Howard Thurman

Like a voice and a gift from heaven, the great teacher still teaches... I miss you Dad!

Merry Christmas, Blessed New Year and Happy Ephiphany everyone. With my love, mEg

Looking for a forever family....

Hallelujah Christmas

This is a familiar song with new lyrics for Christmas, beautiful! Thanks Anne....

Lonely for Christmas

From my husband's aunt, Zizi Joann:

Sobering thoughts as we enter the holiday season...It is important to remember that not everyone is surrounded by large wonderful families. Some of us have problems during the holidays and sometimes are overcome with great sadness when we remember the loved ones who are not with us. And, many people have no one to spend these times with and are besieged by loneliness. We all need caring, loving thoughts right now. May I ask my friend/s, wherever you might be, to give a moment of support to all those who have family problems, health struggles, job issues, worries of any kind and just need to know that someone cares. Do it for all of us, for nobody is immune.

A prayer for those in need this Christmas:
“Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this life, in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; So that, at the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal.” The Book of Common Prayer, published in 1662

A beautiful, heart-breaking Christmas wish

Two Years After She Passed Away, A Woman Gives Her Family An Unforgettable Christmas

Brenda Schmitz wrote a letter with three wishes right before she died, but asked a friend not to mail it until her husband had fallen in love again.




Brenda Schmitz, a wife and mother of four boys, passed away from ovarian cancer in September 2011.


A month before she died, Brenda wrote a letter to the Des Moines, Iowa, radio station “Star” 102.5. She asked a friend to wait to mail it until her husband, David, had fallen in love again.


Every year, the station takes submissions for Christmas wishes, granting a select few. The station brought in David and surprised him by saying they had received a letter from his wife.


“When you are in receipt of this letter, I will have already lost my battle to ovarian cancer,” Brenda wrote. “I told [my friend] once my loving husband David had moved on in his life and had met someone to share his life with again, to mail this letter to all of you at the station.”



Brenda’s first request was a day of pampering for David’s new love, a woman he met in October 2012 named Jane. “She deserves it, being a stepmother to all those boys,” Brenda wrote. “Make her smile and know her efforts are truly appreciated from me.”


Brenda also asked for a “magical trip” for the family, and lastly, a night out full of drinks, food, and fun for the cancer doctors at Mercy Medical Hospital, where she was treated.


“We’ve been doing the Christmas Wish program for 20-plus years. We’ve never received a wish like this, ever,” station manager Scott Allen told the Des Moines Register.


“It’s not surprising, ’cause the last year and a half she’s shown so many signs that she’s there,” David said, sharing a story of a double rainbow that appeared the morning she died. “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” was her and her son’s favorite song.


Along with the letter with the wishes, Brenda included an additional letter to be given to Jane, who has two kids of her own.


All three of Brenda’s wishes were granted by the station and local sponsors, who sent the family of eight to Disney World. “There wasn’t a dry eye in the room when we got [the letter],” Allen said. “It really inspired us to do something for her.”

A week from now...

A week from now will be the weekend after Christmas.

A week from now you may get up Saturday morning and get straight to work clearing away the last traces of Christmas.

Before you do, read these thoughts from my wise-before-her-time niece Meghan. They might make you change your plans.

And milk every ounce out of the holiday to see if you can make it last the whole year through.

How can people be so sick of Christmas? I’m not talking about the commercialism that the stores throw at us from the end of October until almost the end of December. No, I’m talking about the actual Christmas season. To me, Christmas is not the decorations, gifts, or even the music. Instead, it is the celebration of the birth of the Christ-child. Don’t get me wrong, I love the music and the gifts, I could take or leave the decorations, but I love them for what they represent and celebrate: the omnipresent God made flesh and sent to earth as a baby. This is why, when my dad starts playing Christmas music in October, I don’t think it’s too early for the music, instead I recognize it as a reminder of my God’s awesome power. I mean, sure, by the time Epiphany has ended I’m ready to put every piece of Christmas related propaganda into the attic, but I don’t want to forget what the true reason for the season really is. So why do we have to get burned out on Christmas so fast? Why can’t we remain excited about Christmas all year round? It’s because Christmas in our society is no longer about Christ’s gift to us but it is now about how much we can get for ourselves.

So I want to challenge you this Advent season and for the entire year to come, take time out once a day to remember what Christmas is really about. Remember that Christ came as a child to eventually die for the sins of the world. I challenge you to listen to Christmas music more than just during the “appropriate” time of the year. Listen to “Silent Night,” “Hark the Herald Angels Sing,” or “O Holy Night” and pay close attention to what the words are really saying. Bust out singing one of these songs in the middle of July, or maybe at Easter when we once again celebrate Christ’s sacrifice. If you don’t think you can handle the music all year long, celebrate this season from now all the way through the Epiphany.

< Don’t take your Christmas tree down the day after Christmas, instead turn off the house lights, turn on the tree lights, lie underneath the tree, and watch the lights twinkle like stars in the dark. As you watch the lights, think about the star that led the wise men to Bethlehem all those years ago. If you don’t think you can handle all of these options then just choose one option. Or at least refuse to burn out on Christmas as quickly as you normally would.

This season only comes around once a year, but the miracle of this season should be reflected on all year long. If this means Christmas music has to play all year long to remind us of the miracle, then so be it. Jesus is more than just the reason for the season, He is the reason God will forgive that which He once deemed unforgiveable.

Reframing Christmas

This isn't typical... it's much more beautiful! What if we all took our Christmas and turned it on its head? My friend Amy (my hero) did and this is what it looks like:

[Mat 25:35-36, 40 NLT] For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.' ... "And the King will say, 'I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!'

Keeping Christ in Christmas for my family means we make an effort to not "do Christmas" to the extent the world does Christmas. Every single way we celebrate is based on tradition and someone's idea of what Christmas should look like (mostly from a commercial standpoint). If you think about it, what part of our Christmas celebration is biblical? The birth story of Jesus is certainly in the Bible :) But that is about it. Biblical hymns and scripture readings can certainly praise and honor our Lord at Christmas and Advent can sharpen our focus, but how much of that do we experience in the stores and in our online shopping? Santa is worshiped more than Jesus!

Think on this: when we celebrate a birthday in our family, how do we go about it? Do we decorate the house, talk about the person's birthday, have a party, and feast.... and then give gifts in the name and in honor of the birthday person to everyone but the birthday person? Here's another thought... when we celebrate a birthday, don't we try to focus on the birthday person him or her with their favorites, such as favorite meals, favorite restaurants, favorite gifts, etc.?

So, in order to celebrate Jesus' birthday in a way that honors Him, my immediate family started to focus on Him. (And this was NOT easy because Scott and I grew up with a typical American Christmas and we did it that way with our family until 4 years ago.) For us, that means we don't do Santa in order to keep Jesus the focus as the bearer of all good gifts (no images/decorations of Santa everywhere save a tree ornament or 2, no cookies, no list, no reindeer food, no footprints in the fireplace, etc.) We scaled waaaaaay back on the presents that we gave each other (especially the kiddos!). We decided to make each birthday the time that we would have fun with gifts and gift-giving.

This year, we are at our lowest gift total ever: one for each child from Mommy and Daddy and one to each other. (As the primary gift-procurer in our family, I cannot tell you how this has literally changed my whole outlook on this time of year!) On Christmas Day, we get out the charity catalogs in order to give gifts to Jesus. We each spend an amount of money on charity efforts that we choose as individuals. We pray before we open the catalogs and focus on hearing the Lord's guidance as we flip though the pages. World Vision, Voice of the Martyrs, Samaritan's Purse, Compassion International, and Heifer International to name a few....

There is still so much more that my family can do to scale back and refocus! Think about the love for prisoners, orphans, the poor, and widows our Lord wants us to demonstrate. I shake my head when I think of the sadness and neglect these groups experience at this time of year.

Lord, forgive us for creating a season in Your name that excludes You. Help us to focus on you and your heart this year. Guide our focus and shift it to You. Help us not just talk about honoring You at Christmas, but to do and act and serve in Your name. Amen.

Grateful for the little things

Today as I rode my bike in the 70-degree sunshine, I found the breathing easy as I shed my sweater, the to-do list and the stresses of the last week. Along the road to Jeremy's school enroute to his class party, I started a mental list of little things I'm grateful for:
-- Sunshine warm enough for a t-shirt in December
-- A t-shirt with red and white stripes like a candy cane
-- Tea olive trees that keep blowing their peppery jasmine smell across my path
-- A bike with a basket on it
-- A school close enough to ride my bike to
-- A quick zip past dozens and dozens of cars ditched blocks from the school
-- My front row parking space

-- A school Christmas party with 24 squealing children
-- A job that allows me the freedom to attend school events
-- A child that jumps for joy to see me
-- A child that turned eight today, so grown up but who will always be--as he calls himself--"the other baby who came for Christmas"
And finally,
-- I'm grateful for my blog so I can write this all down to remind me how amazing my life is!

Tiny little pieces make a whole

Another gorgeous photo story from my college roommate, Lillian... We visited the International Quilt Study Center at the University of Nebraska over Thanksgiving. The first set of quilts were put together by a male engineer. He looked very much like a farmer in overalls behind his sewing machine. And then there was the quilt made by Bertha Neiden that won the purple ribbon at the 1914 Nebraska State Fair. It has 10,222 pieces! Talk about preparation, patience and perseverance. To me, these photos are about the unexpected. Kind of like no one really expected Jesus to be born in a manager. And just like Jesus' birth, they show incredible beauty in their simplicity.