Christmas is Here

This was originally written for my guest post on NITU that I was awarded for knowin that both Santa and the Jolly Green Giant wee known for saying ‘Ho, ho, ho’.
Today (OK, last Saturday) was decoration day. Time to pull all the Christmas stuff out and decorate the house for the holidays. Maria is very into the holidays. Me, not so much. However, I do love the way the house looks when it’s done. We’ve got loads of animated and light up buildings, figures, trees, snowmen and what not. We’ve got several ‘countdown to Christmas’ things that the kids really enjoy taking turns doing. Everywhere you look there’s something moving, glowing or playing music. OK, mostly the music stays off (gets pretty annoying.)
Anyway, usually the first weekend after Thanksgiving is decoration day. My responsibilities are limited:

  1. Don’t be a grouch. You think I’m kidding? Maybe you remember the icicle light incident of three tears ago …(Maria every now and then starts singing “It’s the most wonderful time of the year …” or something as I get a little annoyed at the stupid tree. I appreciate that.)
  2. Plug my laptop into the surround sound so we can play all our Christmas music on random. I love technology.
  3. Bring all the tubs of Christmas stuff up from the basement.
  4. Assemble the Christmas tree.
  5. String the bead garland and put the ornaments on the top part of the tree. Aside from my 6′ 1″ frame, Maria’s the next tallest at 4′ 10″. If it weren’t for me, the top foot of the tree would be bare.

Other than that, it’s sit back and enjoy the show. The kids love every minute of it. By the time I’m done with getting the tree together, Maria and the kids have all the stuff out of the tubs and set up around the house.
Then it’s time for the tree. One of our traditions is that we buy the girls ornaments each year to set aside for their own trees one day. Either a set of simple ornaments or a single, more expensive fancy one. They’ve now each have an organizer with their ornaments in. Each year they pick out a certain number to put on the tree, the rest are Mom and Dad’s.
This year, we decided to let them go all out. The tree is all their ornaments. I’m not much on hanging ornaments, I’d rather sit back and watch. I enjoy watching how excited they get about finding the perfect spot for that special ornament.
Other traditions we have:

  • Santa fills the stockings and brings some of the presents, Mom and Dad bring the rest (but not at the same time). Growing up for me it was all Santa and our stockings were just for show.
  • There’s always an orange in the toe of the stocking. There’s also a new toothbrush, some candy (great combo, eh?) and some other goodies.
  • Since we usually head to Grandmas on Christmas eve, Santa comes early. The space under our tree is filled Christmas eve morning. I like that Santa is smart and considerate like that.
  • On Christmas eve eve, we read the Bible Christmas story and open family presents. One of them is always new ‘jammies for the girls. That way they look pretty for Christmas eve morning pictures. 😀 Growing up for me, Christmas eve was for family presents too, but it was Grandma and Grandpa presents.
  • Then, on Christmas eve afternoon, we leave for the Schaefer holiday tour. We start with a few days in Toledo with my family, including the traditional Christmas eve gathering. After Church, Mom and Dad open their home to a few friends with no family in town. After the Tom and Jerry’s (sweet, hot drink) and snacks, the guests go home and the adults open their presents. We take turns giving, the receiver of a present then becomes the giver next time.

    • After Toledo, we head to MO to see Maria’s family. Along the way, we stop for the night in IL and our good friends from WI drive down to meet us for a night. Swimming in the hotel pool, cards after the kids go to sleep and lots of laughs. I hope we continue to do this for many years.

  • Then it’s a late Christmas with Maria’s family. Presents are opened at her brother’s house, and as they are you’ll find folks hoarding the discarded wrapping paper. Why? Because after they’re all opened, the ceiling fan gets turned on and the wads of wrapping paper get tossed into the fan. Her brother finds paper wads behind furniture until summer time.

I’m sure there are more that I missed, Maria’s the tradition tracker. In fact, she’s the driving force behind most of them. And I’m grateful.
How about you? What are your traditions?

I’d Like Your Prayers

If you feel so moved, I’d appreciate your prayers from Maria’s Dad. He went into the hospital earlier this week with shortness of breath. He’s been in for a few days and only made marginal improvements.
His name is Robert. He’s in his mid 70’s and was a smoker for over 60 years. He started when he was 12 and didn’t quit until a couple of years ago. He has emphysema and has had throat cancer. He now has COPD and likely pneumonia, though his lungs are so damaged they cannot see for sure. He cannot even get out of bed without being extremely exhausted, yet he’s convinced that he doesn’t need to be in the hospital and wants to go home.
This has been very stressful and hard on the family. We are several hundred miles away, and Maria’s youngest brother is the only one of the four kids in town. It’s hard being this far and not knowing how we can help. We cannot just run and help, though it feels like we should (and we, or at least Maria, still may). We are certainly grateful of all her brother is doing on his own.
If your willing, pray of course for his health, for his doctors, for peace for Maria’s Mom Donna who is overwhelmed right now and strength and patience for her brother Adam.
Thanks.

Luke 1

Time to put my money where my mouth is on m Bible study. I’ve decided that a study of Jesus is in order. I don’t recall doing a study of Luke, which means it’s been a long time, so that’s what I’m going to do. As with Ezekiel, I’m reading from the ESV. One of these days I need to change the verse linking around here to point to the ESV. For now, it’s still the NIV.
Luke 1:6 – Before the grace of Jesus, two people were described as “walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord.” What that reminds me is that grace is not a concept invented at the cross, for certainly they were not sin free (Zechariah proves this in a minute). It was in God’s nature all along to look past the sin of those earnestly seeking him.
Luke 1:18 – After all that prophesy concerning his life (a baby, and a prophet!), he answers basically “Dude, how can I believe that? I’m an old man, and my wife’s old too!” It’s hard to imagine seeing an angel, hearing that prophesy and then questioning his intelligence. Actually, come to think of it, I can imagine doing that, being the judgemental dope that I am.
Luke 1:19 – Gabriel answers – “Hey – I stand in the presence of God and He told me to tell you!” and then puts him in his place. I have to wonder – was the making Z. mute Gabe’s idea or did God tell him to? I can imagine Gabriel being disgusted at the lack of respect and laying this on Zechariah on his own. Of course, he couldn’t have done so (assuming he did) unless God had given him such authority. I like the idea that God would do such a thing as give an angel the trust to discipline a man if he saw fit.
Luke 1:23-25 – There’s a comedic scene here that was left out. Zechariah comes home with the amazing knowledge of this vision and no voice to tell Elizabeth about it. Seeing that a new baby – a baby boy – was part of it, I imagine he was excited to, uh, make sure it was fulfilled if you know what I mean. But he couldn’t talk to her to make it happen. I’m thinking that might have been kinda funny.
Luke 1:34 – Notice the difference between Mary’s response and Zechariah’s. He asks how he’s supposed know that it’s true, she asks just “How?”.
Luke 1:39-45 – I wonder if these women really understood what they were a part of? Certainly, time would show it, but even then, did they understand the impact their sons would have? I would have liked to hear some more of their conversations from this meeting.
Luke 1:64-66 – I wonder if we would be impressed with something like this today. I think we are too jaded, too surrounded with special effects and medical miracles. I somehow doubt that this wold create the same kind of stir.
Luke 1:76 – “And you, child, …” Can you hear the pride in Zechariah’s voice? I can recall looking at my baby girls and wondering, what will this child bring? What does the Lord have in store for you, little one? I’m still not sure for mine and I wait to see it revealed. He knew that God has chosen him for a special mission, a one of a kind assignment. Imagine knowing that of your child.

Bonhoffer on Community

From Alan’s great post on building the church comes this quote from Dietrich Bonnhoffer:

Love community, and you will kill it. Love your brother, and you will build it.

Brilliant. How many times do we try to produce the fruit of the kingdom rather than simply seeking it and living it and letting it produce it’s own fruit? We look at all the good things that God promised we would have or told us we should have, and think that we are responsible for achieving them. No, we are responsible to simply obey Jesus. If we do that, the fruit will come.
Love God, love each other and watch God produce the community.

Best Thanksgiving Post Quote

No Thanksgiving post here last week. I generally don’t do the obligatory holiday posts because, well, ’cause I don’t. And I know it’s a little late, but go read Jared’s Thanksgiving advice. Good stuff and buried in the middle is this awesome quote:

Vomit grace all over the table, horn-o’-plenty centerpiece and all. Be Jesus at that table and overturn it with kindness.

Don’t let the mental picture scare you away, the post is really good. Check it out.

I think I’m Ready

I think I’m ready to get back to blogging. Maybe. I know, technically I never stopped, but posts about suicidal squirrels isn’t exactly why I started this thing. Back when I started, there was a lot of stuff on my mind and I wanted a place to explore it and present it.
[OK, here’s the irony – I started writing this almost two weeks ago. Well, I did say maybe … 😛]
These past months, there’s been stuff on my mind, but I’ve been less interested in writing about it. Actually, I’ve started writing about it several times, but got no where. Too much buzzing in my brain. Too much circular logic. The weight of the world felt like it was on my shoulders. Everywhere I looked I saw issues, problems and sin.

  • First it was my sin. My criticalness, my anger, my impatience, my intolerance. The hardest part wasn’t just seeing it, it was knowing that it was so ingrained in me, so much a part of me as to be inseperable. I couldn’t see myself as separate form that sin. I couldn’t see how I could escape it.
  • Then it was the sin in others. My kids can be disobedient and mean at times, my wife fails (occasionally :-D), leaders falter, coworkers disspoint, I can be mistreated or misunderstood. I wanted to fix it, to make these things better, to help heal these situations. But then I realized that I can’t even deal with myself, how can I possible deal with them?
  • On top of that, the sin of others came in business after business treating me poorly. First it was our failed Weider exercise machine, fighting with the dealer over a second failed transmission (Honda was great, the dealer wasn’t), a relatively expensive and highly rated Hoover vacuum started falling apart once the 12 month warranty was up, the issues with my car and then our relatively new dining room table began deteriorating and the magical 5 year warranty we bought turned out to be a scam (beware of Stainsafe). Everywhere I turned, companies weren’t just out to sell me a product and take my money, it felt like they were out to get me, extracting as much money from me as possible while delivering as little as possible and refusing to stand behind their work. Is there no integrity among businesses anymore? Maybe there never was and I just never noticed.
  • Then it came back to me. Maybe it was my critical heart that only saw the worst in people. Perhaps my standards were too high. How can I possibly live like this, not knowing if I’m the problem or them? It became a vicious circle of failure.

It was too much, to hard to sort through. There’s no way I can sort through it and make sense of it. It seemed hopeless so I basically gave up.
I spent several weeks, a few months actually, without much prayer or Bible study. This has happened before in the ebb and flow of life. Business gets in the way. This was a bit different though. I didnt even care to pray or read. I’d sit and stare at my computer, reading about mundane things rather than pursue God. I simply didn’t want to, what was the point.
I hit a particularly low point and one day indesparation went for a walk to pray. I didn’t know what I would say but I knew that there was no peace coming in my head, only God could get me there. It was like fresh water to a man dying of thirst. I poured my heart out to Him and he answered. No voices, but answers none the less. I’ve had a few prayers like this since that have begun to heal my wounded soul and inspire me to start again. I don’t think I’m ready to take the training wheels off, but I’m at least getting back on the bike. My prayers and study aren’t yet what I want them to be, but my heart knows they are needed and I again feel the longing to commune with my father. That’s a start.
God has shown me at least 2 things in my talks with him.

  1. I need to know my place, and find peace in it. The echoes of many talks with my middle daughter came back to me. I am starting to think that she will be my salvation, as well as (hopefully) me hers. We are in surprisingly similar states. She presses constantly to be in control. She want to rule the world, well, at least her world. I tell her that she must learn her place, and be content in it.
    Those words echoed to me as I poured out my heart to God. I must learn my place. I will not be a world leader, influencing many to change. I cannot fix the sins of the world. It is not my role to turn the tide of the ICOC or even my own church. I cannot fix the world’s problems, and that the way God designed it. Most will not be changed by my existence, and that OK. But for those few that I do connect with, I must give my heart and use what God has given me for their good. I will not make a dent in the direction of the world bent on sin, but I can profound change the lives of the few that I meet. The world may not notice that I’m here, but these will and that’s all that matters. If I do that and nothing more, God will be well pleased.
  2. Jesus is enough. In one prayer, driving home from Thanksgiving, I asked God how he can possibly deal with all this sin. He answered instantly in one word.
    Jesus.
    At once it seemed the obvious answer and at the same time inadequate. Yeah, OK, but I mean how do you handle it emotionally. I know he dealt with it, but …
    I thought some more and realized that I wasn’t willing to let Jesus to be enough. It was enough for God. It was how he dealt with the pain of watching our sin. I can never deal with my sin or the sin of others. It will always be there. Always. The only way to deal with it is Jesus. That’s how God did it, that’s His answer. Jesus is enough.

There’s a lot more, and I hope to write more about stuff that matters (and stuff that doesn’t).
Thanks for being here, listening.

Ezekiel – Chapters 45-48

OK, it’s been a long time and I’m having a hard time picking up where I left off. Sigh. 🙁
Ezekiel 45:13-15 – Interesting here, in the OT, God is demanding a offering that’s less than a tithe. Maybe I’m misunderstnading the bigger picture, or this is a special circumstance or I’m doing the math wrong. All possibilities, I guess, but take a look:

  • An ephah is essentially a ‘tithe’ of a homer (a tenth), yet God only demands 1/6 of an ephah of wheat and barley, in other words 1/6 of a tithe.
  • He’s even less demanding on oil, demanding a tithe of a tithe if you will – a tenth of a bath per cor (there are 10 baths in a cor).
  • Even less for sheep – one of 200, or half of a percent or half of a tithe of a tithe.

Don’t know that it means anything per se, I just find it interesting.
Ezekiel 45-46 – I’m not sure I get who the ‘prince’ is nor all the sacrifices. Again, like the description of the beasts or the temple, It’s hard for me to follow. It’s also hard to get why it’s important, but I suppose it meant a lot more to them then than it does to me now.
Ezekiel 47:1-12 – I don’t quite get the exact symbolism here in the water flowing from the temple, but it is certainly a symbol of hope. Good things are coming, I’m sure that was welcome news after all the judgement and condemnation of earlier chapters.
Ezekiel 47:13-48:35 – A rather anti-climactic ending, descriptions of dividing up the land between the tribes.

Flaming Kamikaze Squirrel Torches Car

That’s the actual headline from an article in The Register (via Jalopnik) that gives us this quote:

Tony Millar explained: “The squirrel chewed through the wire, was set on fire, fell down directly to where the car was. The squirrel, on fire, slid into the engine compartment and blew up the car.”

I’m not sure who was having a worse day, the owner of the torched Camry or the squirrel. The Camry was insured, so I guess the squirrel. And the Camry owner survived.

Weird Google Search term #2

Found in my Google Analytics report this week:
Three folks found their way here be searching for:

which two months did the romans add to make 12, and what impact did this have on february?

I am happy to report that, due to a dedicated search engine optimization program (not), salguod.net is the top two results for that search! Neither has anything to do with the Romans or the calender, however, except that they are both monthly archive pages, and one is February!
Sorry to disappoint the three of you looking for answers to calender riddles, I have no idea what you’re talking about. I am kinda fond of February, though, as it’s the month of my anniversary and my oldest daughter’s birthday.

On This Day

Recent Posts

Recent Comments

Categories

Archives

Meta