Joy to the World!

This has been a different Christmas for us. Didn't put up a tree or any decorations (sold them). Living in temporary housing, having Christmas in a borrowed home, didn't do my usual bake/cook-and-freeze since we sold our chest freezer... feeling a bit in limbo. I've thought often this season of Mary and Joseph packing up the donkey and heading to Bethlehem (although no baby on board for us:); with no room at the inn they borrowed a bed of hay from the barn animals.

We packed up "Christmas" last night and we're on our way to Indy where all the kids will be rolling in at various times in the next week. We'll have three full days when the whole Jackson gang will be together. My family update with pictures will come after Christmas this year.

Dennis and I wish you all a very Merry Christmas.

We celebrate the fact that Jesus came in grace and truth.

May that same grace and truth be yours this Christmas!

The Seasons of the Lake

Dennis and I have a little spot in Grand Haven we have deemed as D/G Point, and although the public has access to this spot we claim it as our own when we want to get a good view of the lake.

Saturday was such a beautiful sunny day; a rarity in winter for West Michigan. We sat at D/G Point overlooking the lake as the sun glistened off the lighthouse and the waves rolled up over the pier. It won't be long until the lighthouse has it's new winter look frosted in layers of thick white ice. Snow fences line the beach in preparation for the snow and winds to come. With the mild temperatures the water has maintained it's flow, but before winter's end the nature of the lake will create its own icy formations.

I found myself pondering that day how the seasons make their transitions into the next. A picture of life itself. Thought of an old song - Turn, Turn, Turn - sung by The Byrds (anybody remember that one?) taken from the book of Ecclesiastes.

To everything there is a season,
and a time to every purpose under heaven.

Waiting out the Countdown...

I wonder if God and the angelic beings had a countdown to Christmas... well, not "Christmas" back then, but a countdown as they anticipated the delivery of the long-awaited Messiah, the one they knew would be the Savior of the world.

Christmas calls for a countdown.

Countdowns require waiting.

Waiting creates anticipation (perhaps patience!).

Kids anticipate opening gifts on Christmas morning. Relatives anticipate family gatherings, a chance to be together for the holidays. Churches participate in the Advent by lighting the candles as they count down the weeks until Christmas. Decorating the tree, putting up lights, baking cookies, listening to Christmas music... it's all about creating the atmosphere of anticipation.

Maybe the most important aspect of countdowns is the waiting, because it's in the waiting that we get ready, we expect something to happen, and we take action in order to be prepared for what is to come. God certainly created an atmosphere in which people were looking for a Messiah. His timing is perfect. He sent Jesus at just the "right time" according to Galatians 4:4.

Dennis and I are in our own countdowns.

Counting down the days till we meet up with all our kids and grandkids in Indianapolis for Christmas. It'll be the first time we have Evee, Stella, and Miles all at once! Talk about anticipation:). Everybody is making plans to come. In fact, Josh and Kari even now are making their way across the U.S. in Stella's first ever road trip. We can't wait to be together!

Then, we are in the final countdown weeks in raising the remainder of our support needs so we can head to Europe. It was so good to see our pie chart go beyond the half way mark two weeks ago. We know that God owns all the resources in the world, and so we trust Him to provide full funding at just the "right time."

Countdowns require waiting... it is in the waiting that our faith grows to trust God for that which we do not yet see. It is in the waiting that we gain hope for what is to come. It is in the waiting that He sharpens our focus and vision for Europe. It is in the waiting that he readies us for what lies ahead. And, it is in the waiting that anticipation grows in making Europe a reality.

In the midst of this Christmas season we are reminded of the countdown that took place over 2,000 years ago. One that produced the greatest gift of all - a Savior for all mankind. And it is with anticipation that we live life because of the life we have in Jesus.