by jphilo | Dec 14, 2016 | Different Dream, Encouragement, Spiritual Support
Downsizing for Christmas
When my husband and I bought the old farmhouse we’ve lived in for 25 years, we were charmed by its ample storage space. But now that we’re downsizing and moving, the treasures and mementos accumulated in the attic, the closets, the built-in bookshelves, and the basement storage rooms seem much less charming. We are now on a first name basis with landfill crew and the staff at Good Will. Our dinner conversations consist of the following: Do we need to keep this broken guitar strap your mom gave it to you in 1987? Hmmm, I thought I threw away my college textbooks years ago. Now that the kids are 34 and 28, it’s time to toss their Awana Grand Prix cars, their vests and uniforms, badges, books, and trophies.
Letting go of some things was easy. But saying good-bye to my kids’ baby things was hard. You haven’t looked at these things in years, I reminded myself as I struggled to throw away the moth-eaten Santa hat my son wore on his first Christmas and the bundle of yellowed cards sent by friends and family after our daughter’s birth.
The morning after a particularly brutal day of downsizing, packing, and unsuccessful attempts to toss the Santa hat and baby cards, I read the Christmas story in Matthew. The account of the Magi throwing a baby shower for the Christ Child unleashed a floodgate of questions. How long did Mary hang on to the gold and frankincense and myrrh? Where did she keep them? Did she and Joseph haul everything to Egypt and back? Did the gold cover their travel expenses? Did Mary struggle when she had to downsize?
Scripture doesn’t answer those questions. The gifts of the Magi are never mentioned again though Luke 2:19 says that Mary treasured and pondered in her heart the events surrounding her first child’s birth. And we can assume that Mary passed along the story of Jesus’ birth to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John who recorded them in their gospels.
Mary’s memories are precious jewels to all who follow Christ. For over two thousand years, her story of the birth of the Son of God has been the centerpiece of Christmas. The gifts of the Magi are long gone. The earthly dwellings that once housed the Joseph, Mary, the shepherds, the Magi, and even Jesus are gone. But Mary’s story remains as clear as the stars and as fresh as the night air surrounding the angels who proclaimed about her Son’s birth. And His eternal Spirit dwells within all who call Him Savior.
I slipped my Bible into the place it has occupied on one of the built-in bookshelf for 25 years. Then I went to the attic and gently put the hat and the baby cards, broken toys and a stained Easter bonnet, and the moldering detritus of my children’s growing up years in a plastic bag. I tossed the bag on the pile where it waited for a ride to the landfill.
I prayed for my children and their children as I walked back to the house. May the memories we created and the love we’ve shared be clear and fresh in their hearts long after we are gone. May they ponder and embrace Mary’s stories of her Son this and every Christmas. May the living Spirit of Jesus fill their hearts with joy and truth and purpose forever more. Amen.
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by jphilo | Oct 31, 2016 | Church Newsletter Columns
The counsel of the LORD stands forever,
The plans of His heart from generation to generation.
Psalm 33:11
On the last Wednesday of October, I took Mom for a little drive. The trees, dressed in fabulous fall colors, put on quite a show. Every so often Mom would point and say, “There’s a pretty one,” or “Look at the color on that one.” The day was lovely and our time together was a delight, but the autumn colors were a reminder that winter, my least favorite season, is coming, and I can’t do a thing about it.
The weather isn’t the only thing changing this fall. Our country will soon have a new president and new members of Congress. State and local governments will welcome new faces, too. Our family faces changes, too, as we prepare to move to a new home in a new town. And our church is preparing for the changes that will accompany the arrival of a new associate pastor.
We all respond differently to change. I dread the arrival of winter’s cold and snow. Hiram looks forward to putting in cross country ski trails after each big snow. Voters who vote for this year’s winning candidates will be pleased on November 9, while those whose candidates lose will be disconcerted. And even though God has made it clear that our upcoming move is part of his plan for our family, Hiram and I vacillate daily between the excitement of watching God’s plan unfold and panic about the downsizing, packing, paperwork, and the million little details that are part of our adventure.
As a church body, we are eager to welcome a new associate pastor. We are ready for the guidance of a godly man who will be a support to Pastor Tim by providing vision and leadership as our church grows. But how will we respond when the changes he recommends are different from the way things have always been done? When we are pushed beyond our comfort zones and complacency? When change is welcomed by some and painful for others?
How can we respond to change in ways that honor God and draw onlookers closer to him? That is a question God wants us to ponder. It’s the question he brings to mind each day while I sort through old family treasures and photographs. When I think of leaving the house where my children grew up, where we made 25 years of family history.
“Your memories are enough, and I am enough,” he whispers gently and insistently. “I will not change, and I will never leave you,” he promises. “I am still good. My ways are good, and I will accomplish my good purposes within you wherever I take you.”
His words give me the power to part with material things and a home I hols dear. His words will be our nation’s source of hope the day after the 2016 election. His words can fill us with grace and confidence to welcome the changes God has planned for our church body through the work of a new associate pastor. His words are the unchanging beacon of truth that allow us to respond to changes, good and bad, in ways that honor God and make him irresistible to a watching world.
His words are enough.
He is enough.
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by jphilo | Aug 21, 2014 | Different Dream, Self-Care and Stress, Special Needs Parenting
Special Needs Hidden Treasures
Photo Credit: Stuart Miles at www.freedigitalphotos.net
After 13 years in the same place, guest blogger Maggi Gale and her husband are in the midst of an unexpected move. They are sorting through items stored in their loft (called an attic in the States) for 13 years. In the process, Maggi discovered some special needs hidden treasures to pass along to you.
Special Needs Hidden Treasures
July has found us up the loft, in shock over all the belongings we’d left there 13 years ago and subsequently forgotten! Now, through situations beyond our control, it’s time to sort through, condense, and discard, our not necessarily unwanted, but definitely unneeded possessions. Everything from homemade ceramic pots to childhood photos have all come up for scrutiny and added to the trash or treasure piles.
Hidden Treasures in the Loft
At first I was completely overwhelmed by the task. How could we possibly get rid of that book? I’ve had it since primary school! And these baby clothes! She was so cute in that! Practically speaking however, how could we keep it when we live overseas and the loft is no longer available to us? And hang on, if we haven’t used it for 13 years, looks like we don’t actually NEED it now.
But as I’ve realized that some things are treasures–just someone else’s treasure rather than mine–and then taken them to the charity shop, a feeling of liberty has begun to replace the overwhelmed one.
Hidden Treasures in our Faith
The truth is, we are not defined by our possessions. Yes, our possessions can say a lot about us and reflect our values, tastes and even experiences. But there’s a better and more eternal reference point for identity than the loft.
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:10
The special needs parent has a multitude of good works to perform every day, which according to this verse, God has prepared beforehand. Most of those good works are just as hidden to the world as our belongings were for those 13 years in the loft. And as Christians, these good works we’re doing can be part of the process of His workmanship in us.
Hidden Treasures in God’s Hands
So as we sort through our things, I’m keeping in mind that I am who I am because that is what God says. He knows who He made me to be. And special needs parenting has been a modelling tool in the hands of the ultimate Potter!
What Are Your Special Needs Hidden Treasures?
Have you discovered some special needs hidden treasures on your parenting journey? You’re invited to share them in the comment box if you like.
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Maggi is a wife and mother of two daughters. She is a primary school teacher, having worked in Africa for 14 years before moving to the Middle East. Her passions are her animals and art. Her youngest daughter was born with tracheoesophageal fistula (TEF). This birth condition was to be the start of an arduous journey, impacting the whole family for several years. Through writing, she hopes to turn her experiences into encouragement for others on similar paths.
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by jphilo | Jan 10, 2014 | Daily Life
Can you believe it? While our nation catches its collective breath after the Great Polar Vortex of 2014, an even scarier event is taking shape in the country’s midsection.
Get ready for the Great Purgeal Vortex of 2014.
The epicenter is located in an unassuming farmhouse on the edge of a small Iowa town. The vortex began gaining strength last fall when the unassuming residents of the unassuming farmhouse helped rellies pack up their households and move to new digs. Those moving experiences made the farmhouse residents think about their intent to pack their own household in a few years, when they hope to move closer to their kids. And they realized, that after 25 years in the same house, they have too much stuff.
Hence the Great Purgeal Vortex of 2014.
It begins this weekend, so consider this your warning to take cover. For the next two months, do not, repeat, do not hide in the closets, cupboards, attic, or basement of the unassuming farmhouse as they will be purged with great vigor and ruthless determination. Do not take cover in the back of the pick up truck parked in the farmhouse garage or at the Goodwill and Salvation Army drop off locations in this small Iowa town as they will serve as purge depositories.
Above all, do not try to stop the woman who instigator the Great Purgeal Vortex of 2014.
She is deadly serious and believed to be armed with old cookware and hangs around with craft projects gone bad. She was last seen wearing an old sweatshirt and dusty blue jeans, and she had a pair of ice skates that looked like they’d been stored in an attic for decades hanging over her shoulder. She was carrying several bulging bags and boxes, and had a Goodwill Donor’s Valuation Guide clutched in one sweaty hand.
Again, do not try stop this woman.
Just stay home, safely out of her way until the Great Purgeal Vortex of 2014 is over at the end of February. Or better yet, start a purgeal vortex at your own house. It’s ugly while it lasts, but once it’s over the people who will one volunteer to help you move after you’ve lived in the same house for 25 years will thank you.
Don’t ask me how I know this.
by jphilo | Dec 5, 2011 | Family
Hiram and I are back from helping our son and his wife, our new daughter, move from Minnesota to Wisconsin. The weekend was a sequel to our August trip when we helped our daughter and her husband, our new son, move from Iowa to Ohio. Through the twin adventures, we gained some do-it-yourself-moving-tips to pass along to you.
10. Always move in the heat of summer or in questionable winter weather. It makes for
better stories later.
9. Make sure the house being moved into is near a decent coffee shop and/or bakery. 8. If you a dog is moving with you, talk to my new daughter. She knows how to keep
animals calm and happy.
7. Budget for breakage and trips to the coffee shop/bakery.
6. Take Hiram along on all moves. He is the calmest person on earth and good at fixing
stuff. Unlike his wife who shall remain nameless.
5. Assign the wimpiest of the moving crew, who shall remain nameless, to plan and
prepare meals ahead of time. She will feel like she’s doing her part even when
passing heavy boxes on to her husband, son, and new daughter to carry.
4. Move on the day the new village has their annual Christmas festivals. The sound of
fireworks during supper makes the day feel festive.
3. Take plenty of hand lotion. Breaking down cardboard boxes dries out the skin.
2. Look carefully at cell phones before stowing them in your purse or pocket. Otherwise
you could discover your son’s cell phone in your purse and yours in your suitcase.
1. Walk completely around the U Haul truck before getting in and driving away.
Otherwise, you could drive away without shutting its back door, scattering suitcases
and table leaves for several blocks until the loud honks from other vehicles alerts you
of the problem and you pull over just before getting onto a very busy road. Don’t ask
how I know this.
How about you? What have you learned about do-it-yourself moves over the years? Your tips would be greatly appreciated!
