MAGI GIFTS

We had all gathered at the appointed time.  Each one bringing gifts, food, hugs and wishes of good cheer to all the others.  The kitchen / dining room in our little house was crowded to say the least.  I had arranged the tables around the perimeter of the room so all the food could be easily accessible.  We would eat buffet style tonight.  We simply have too many family to sit around a given table and eat.  I believe the smells saturating the room from the goodies that were brought and the food cooking on the stove and in the crockpots had already made me gain 5 pounds. 

Bo spoke to God and thanked Him for the food, family and fellowship.  He asked Him to bless our time together.  We attacked the food.

In years past it was Chris and Derek, then Hunter who would not be interested in eating but wanted to get right into the “presents”.  This year that role was played by Renae and Andie. 

“Let’s do presents first”! they pleaded. 

Sometimes Grumps have to be firm.  “No way!  Eat then presents”.

The food had no chance of winning but it put up a good fight.  Wave after wave of seemingly starving consumers lay into the piles of confectionary delights.  They held up for a while but eventually begin to dwindle. 

“Now presents”?  They asked again. 

“As soon as Chris is through eating.  He is the last one”. 

Now the pressure was on.  He had no chance to sit and enjoy his food.  It was like boot camp at Alameda.  “Suck it up and get out”!

So we all gathered in the living room, crammed onto the couch, two to a chair, sitting on the foot stools, but we were there.

Derek and his family were missing due to illness.  He sacrificed his time with us to prevent us from catching the flu-like crud that he had.  Kinsley was teething and also had developed some of her Dad’s  symptoms.  Lauren was preforming the duties of a doctor and good mother. 

Matt, Kimberly, Strawberry, Josiah and the unborn baby affectionately called “Number 3” had celebrated with us earlier in the month.

So here we were, set, ready to pounce on the gigantic pile of colorfully wrapped gifts.  But first things first.

Hunter had already marked the Christmas story in his new Bible.  Chris took it and with his children and family around him begin to read.

“And it came to pass, in those days that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed”.

His voice was clear, strong and he continued the scripture reading. 

“And she brought forth her first born son, and wrapped him in  swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn”.

My first born son was reading to his family about God’s first born son.  If you don’t think you can get blessed hearing the Christmas story read, try that one on for size.

This  is not the first time this has taken place.  I have vivid memories of my Dad, Paw-Paw, reading to us.  I can still see my Mom, Granny, sitting by his side listening like it was the first time she had ever heard the story. 

I have had my share of times when I was the reader and my children sat around me listening to this same story. Somewhere, stuffed back in a spot where I placed it so I wouldn’t forget where I put it, is a video of Paw-Paw sitting in a rocker in Bo and Neet’s living room.  He is reading just as Chris did on this night and we all sit around listening.  I was warmed and blessed by that time.  But tonight is something special. It’s almost like passing the sword or the baton. 

The portion of scripture ended and we bowed our heads and prayed.  I don’t remember the words I said.  I know I prayed for those who could not be with us.  I thanked God for His blessings and asked that He draw us near and make us grateful for The Gift that He had given us.  

As we said “amen” and I raised my head, I noticed tears in my sister’s eyes. (I missed them too Sis.) 

Julie put her camera on the tripod and begin filming the event for viewing in Christmas times to come.  But now the onslaught of the Christmas presents began.  It started out slowly.  “Let’s give out one gift at a time so we can watch everyone open theirs and see what they got”……needless to say, that didn’t work.  In just a short time gifts were piled in front of each of us and we were ripping paper and holding up our prizes.

In a few days I will forget what I got in those boxes.  We usually do.  I doubt you can remember what you got last Christmas. 

But  I want to share with you some of the gifts I got this Christmas that I won’t forget.  They are in no particular order. I’ll forget to mention some that were special but I’ll just jot  some down as they roll over in my rattled brain.

·         A day off work to go last minute Christmas shopping with my wife.  Yes, you heard that right.  I enjoyed shopping with my wife even if the day was long and Grump was getting more grumpy with every minute.

·         Making bird houses from the cane poles that grow on our land.  I know they looked like a third grader made them but it was fun and they came from our land.

·         Smelling the apple cider stuff that Keva puts together only at Christmas. At 61 years old I finally recognized what a chive is and what a combination of chives and cinnamon can do to apple juice.

·         Holding my newest grand-daughter as she wore her Santa suite at her first Fulford family Christmas dinner at Nanny’s. 

·         Sitting with Mrs Hermie and Regina on Christmas Eve morning in their lovely little home on Active Road, drinking coffee and enjoying the hospitality and company of these two fine Christian friends.

·         Listening to the chatter of the Collum family gathering at North Side Baptist Church in Calera as we shared our food and shared stories of days gone by. (I remember the old family times at Papa Dink and Mammy’s house when similar voices, the ancestor of these young people, made the same happy chatter)

·         Hunter and I wearing the same “Snoopy” shirt at Christmas

·         Hunter showing me his Christmas gifts.  Instead of toys and games now he is proud of devotion books, study Bibles and of course his Alabama gear.

·         Making eggs in a basket on Christmas morning for my wife.  (“Don’t put my eggs on the bread, it will make it soggy.  I hate soggy bread”, I can hear her now.)

·         Sharing that special time when it is just me and her, Gracie and the girls (cats) on Christmas morning.  (There was no sadness there, just peace)

·         Watching Perrin as he played with his cowboys and Indians…..then stopped and climbed up on the couch beside me and “read “ me a few lines from his book.  (If there is anything more fantastic than having your grandson sit beside you at Christmas I don’t know what it is.)

·         Hearing Renae sing “Happy Birthday Jesus” as the finale of the Heritage Homecoming Christmas program.

·         Leading a choir in which my two oldest granddaughters and my wife are members

·         Sitting in the sanctuary of Heritage and realizing that The Gift from God The Father was given to me and lives in my heart. You can’t top that one!

And although there are more, and I could sit here at the computer on the day after Christmas 2012 and make a list that you would tire of reading, I’ll end with this last one.

·         A phone call from Matt and Kimberly telling me my new grandchild, which will be here in April 2013 will be Grandson number three!

We are told in Matthew chapter two that the Magi brought costly gifts to Jesus on that special day many years ago.  I am sure they were meaningful and were well received with joy and thanksgiving. I’m sure Joseph and Mary’s hearts were full and about to burst.  I know that because I sense that same fullness this morning.  I feel that same joy and peace and I just want to say “thank you” to all of you and especially to “Our Father”.  Merry Christmas.

SMELLS I LIKE

I was driving down the road the other day and passed an industry off to the side of the road.  It was a company that makes railroad cross ties.  From this industry came the smell of creosote.  I slowed down and took in the smell.  As I did the thought came to me that I needed to make a  list.  So here is a list I’ve put together.  It’s in no particular order, and has absolutely no spiritual significance.  So if you don’t like my list, make your own.  Here are smells that I like:

Creosote

Leaves, rotting in the woods in the fall

Taboo – perfume

Hot chocolate chip cookies right from the oven

Coal burning in a pot belly stove

Salt water and the Gulf of Mexico beach

Baby powder

Cedar lumber

Pine kindling

Bio-silk

A library

Freshly ground coffee

Rich Chilton County dirt just after plowing

The smell of wood burning in a fire place

Leather

Apple cider simmering on the stove at Christmas

 

If you aren’t familiar with some of these smells, take some time and smell them for yourself. You might just find something that will make you smile.

WORDS ON A ROCK

 I have found that it is not that hard to convince people that they have done wrong.  When the Word says “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God”….most don’t try to argue.  They may try to justify their actions, blame them on others, but they will pretty much admit that they have done wrong. 

 Often, people will just accept the fact that they have done wrong and “so what”.  “I’m not the only one” or “I’m not the worst” are excuses we use to lessen the guilt.

What I’d like to discuss is the various ways people try to keep themselves from committing these wrongs again.  Because after all folks, it’s one thing to be forgiven of your past sins and another totally different thing to not do those things again. 

 In another writing I have spoken of the fact that Jesus was not teasing when He said “Go and sin no more”.  So let me share a few ways we go about trying to  be righteous.

  Rules:  Thou shalt not!  On a mountain somewhere I’ve never been, in a place I’ve never seen and couldn’t point to,  God gave Moses a list of rules which someone has called The Ten Commandments. With His own finger He wrote these words on a rock and gave them to Moses.  You will not do this and you cannot do that.  If you do this will happen and if you don’t that will happen.  And so the Children of Israel and those of us who live in this century and in this place, have made valiant attempts to obey those rules.  But I just stopped by to tell you that words on a rock will not change us. You nor I can make it happen.  I contend that if those words could have been followed why would Jesus have had to come and die for me? 

It has been said somewhere that “the law is like a mirror”.  When you wake in the morning and look at yourself in the mirror you can clearly see that your face needs washing and your hair needs attention.  But none of you will take the mirror off the wall and try to wash your face with it. No one is foolish enough to try and comb his hair with a mirror.

So it is with the law.  It shows us where we have failed and where we are wrong but the words on that rock cannot make us righteous. 

Rituals:  Others will put on the robe of “rituals” in order to be righteous.  I’ll read my Bible, I’ll pray three times a day, I’ll go to church on Sunday and Sunday night and Wednesday night.  We make these attempts.  We will do good and perhaps the bad will go away.  We will put ourselves in the right positions and just maybe we won’t be tempted and fail. But rituals, no matter how religiously preformed will not free us from the chains of sin.   

 Regulate:  I’ll do whatever it takes Dear Lord.  What do you want me to do? I’ll make it happen.  I’ll regulate the thoughts I think, the words I say, the acts I commit and then sin will be overcome and I will win.  I don’t have to tell you that doesn’t work do I?  My strength is not a challenge to Satan.  My plans are not a contest for him.  My attempts are not a match for his power. 

So how is sin overcome in our lives? How can I obey the command of Jesus and “go and sin no more”?  What can I do to follow the instructions in Romans 6:6 that tell me that from “henceforth we should not serve sin”?

I firmly believe that much of our misunderstanding concerning this topic comes from our definition of “sin”.  Some feel that sin is anything that is out of the center of God’s will.  While others believe that in order for sin to be sin it must be premeditated, intentional, knowingly committed.  Perhaps that is a topic for another place and time.

In Zachariah 4:6 we are told that it is; “Not by might, nor by power but by My Spirit, saith the Lord”.  All the effort I can put into living for God will not free me.  All of the hoops that I jump through will not save me.  All the words that are written even though they are written on a stone…will not deliver me. 

I think then it is only when I commit my all to Him, when I turn loose and fall into the arms of mercy and grace that I will be able to live as God intended for me to live.  Instead of simply using all of my might, and obeying all the rule, regulation, and rituals I release my situation into His hands.  It is then that I am not only made free from the guilt of sin but also made free from the power of sin.

BLESSINGS FROM THE JUNK YARD

 BLESSINGS FROM THE JUNK YARD

 

Over the 29 years in which I have worked for Chilton County EMA, very seldom have I taken all the vacation time which I have been allowed.  Usually it works out that at the beginning of December I will ask how many days I have and then over the month I will take that many days off.   

Such was the case last week.  It was a take it or lose it vacation day and so I thought I’d get a few little things done around the farm.  I planned on hauling off some scrap iron and making enough money to pay for a used tire and used battery for my old 81 Ford truck. 

 As I prayed that morning I was completely aware that I wasn’t going to see that many people that day.  I think it was by design.  I have a better vacation when no one else is around….ha.  But I prayed my usual prayer, “Lord, help me be a blessing to someone today”, Doubting, hoping, I wouldn’t have the opportunity. 

I  arrived at the scrap yard and as the girl was weighing my load I asked her about her dad who was the owner of the scrap yard.  He had a stroke over a year ago and had not been doing well.  She was excited to tell me that although he had not regained his ability to talk yet, that he was attending church every time the doors were open and that he was attempting to say grace at each meal.  I was very glad for that news and left the yard thanking God for helping him and drawing him closer. 

My next stop was at the used tire place.  The old man who owns this place has had many medical malady’s and is  only operating off 40% of his heart now.  I have mentioned to him on occasion how that he needs to focus on getting his heart right with God with little or no response. 

This morning, sitting off  to the side of the shop was the old owner and a couple of other folk.  I waved and spoke a general good morning as the men started working on my tire.  One of the guys sitting there impressed me as being a “meth-monkey”, a “crack-head” or some such.  Although the day was warm and I was wearing a t-shirt, this poor soul was bundled in a hooded jacket and seemed to be freezing.  He was frail and you could only see a small portion of his tan, wrinkled face through the front of his hoody.

I had no reason to talk to him.  I didn’t know him.  But that did not stop him from walking over to stand in front of me and begin a conversation.  “

Oh, great!  Just what I need”.

As our conversation continued he somehow mentioned the name of the guy at the scrap yard.  I told him that I had just came from there and how the guy was doing.  I guess I thought that was a good “Christian-eez” thing to do. 

“He and I have been going through the same sort of thing”, the guy  said.  “I have been dealing with throat cancer.  The chemo and radiation have been eating me up”. 

Now I felt really  bad.  I had labeled him as a drug abuser when in fact he was dealing with a serious condition. 

“Well, how long have you been over your cancer”, I asked.

“I’m not”.  He said bluntly.  Just a short time ago the doctor did a bunch of test and told me I have lung cancer and only have about 90 days to live. 

Now what do I say?  “Well, sometimes God gives us times like that to make sure our hearts are right with Him”.  I’m reaching, trying to share a Christian view of this with this old guy.  (Honestly, I doubt he is my age.)

“I’ve already done that”, he said.  Now the little slits that were used for eyes were open wide and I could see his big ole brown eyes.  In the corner of one a big ole tear drop formed.  He begin to tell me how that it was only by the blood of Jesus that he could ever expect to make it to heaven.  He told me how blessed he was. 

We talked about heaven, and mercy and grace and peace.  He spoke of how his children didn’t understand the peace and desire he had to just “go home”. 

Obviously, this little guy didn’t own a handkerchief because he was now wiping his nose on his sleeve.  The tears now came out of his eyes and made their way like a steel ball in a pin ball machine down through the tracks and wrinkles in his face finally falling off his cheek onto his old coat. 

I thought to myself that  I was standing here talking to a man who in 90 days or so  would be walking in a place called paradise. 

I reached out and patted him on the shoulder.  “Thank you for sharing your story with me today”, I said.  “You have been a real blessing to me”. 

We exchanged names and I left him standing there amongst the old tires and the grease.  I doubt that I’ll ever see him again this side of heaven.  But I hope that someday I will walk up to him and thank him again for sharing his story with me. He will never know how much he blessed me today. 

No Lord, I wasn’t much of a blessing today.  You blessed me with the good news from others. 

I have said recently that our nation and our world is “going to hell in a hand basket”, ( I have no idea what that phrase means, do you?)   But I have been given hope today.  Hope from an old junk man who tries to say the blessing even when he can’t talk, and hope from a dying man who is in ear shot of home. 

Let the world do what it will.  Let this nation run its course.  God is still on the throne and Jesus sits at His right hand and souls are being saved and lives are being changed.  And that my friend is why you and I cannot give up or give in. 

Try to be a blessing, try to tell someone about Jesus.  You might just find yourself on the receiving end of the deal.