A Thousand Words

She came for just a few days.  She sewed, cooked, watched movies, drove the four wheeler to the pasture, shot the guns with Papa, and she read books.  She read in the car. She read in bed. She read at the table. She read the notes on the fridge and the art on the walls. She read standing and she read sitting.  She read Nancy Drew, and the Hardy Boys, and Junie P. Jones, and books I didn't even know lived here. And this long-legged reader even straddled her great-granddaddy's saddle with a mesmerizing vintage book she found on the shelf.

I told her that I was a reader when I was 10 years old too, and that I never outgrew my love for books. She says that she has books going all over her house - in the kitchen, in her backpack, by her bed, and in the car.  I, too, have them everywhere - by my bed, by my chair, in my bag, and on the e-reader.  

Becoming Myself by Stasi Eldredge graces my Texas bedside table. 

 The North Dakota bedside table is empty because I have just finished a biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and Bad Girls of the Bible by Liz Curtis Higgs. 

 I am working on Eat, Sleep, Move by Tom Rath,  The Coconut Oil Miracle by Bruce Fife, and I Saw the Lord by Anne Graham Lotz.  That's a pretty crazy mix of literature.

From where I am sitting at my computer, I can see four unshelved books: The Joy of Signing by Lottie L. Riekehof, The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence, The Grain Brain by David Perlmutter, MD, and The Inspirational Study Bible by Max Lucado.

I'm positive that all these books and all this reading drives my husband crazy. Positively positive.

But I am also positive that I passed the passion on to my daughters and my grandchildren and it's not a bad thing. 

 Just this week, I ran across this precious picture of my own little readers from a just a few years back.  Yes, this picture is worth a thousand words.

Dr. Seuss said it well:

"The more that you read,

the more things you will know.

The more that you learn,

the more places you'll go."

so,

"Fill your house

with stacks of books,

in all the crannies,

and in all the nooks."

Happy Reading!

Where is He?

"He's not here."

 (Hubby looks confused.)

"He is not here.
 Santa is here.  The elves are here. The snowmen are here. The angels are here. The reindeer are here. The candy canes, and icicles, and snowflakes, and puppies, and hedge hogs are here.
 I've looked at shelf after shelf and store after store.
 But Jesus is NOT here."  

The sad girl at the checkout  says, 
with no expression in her voice, 
"Happy  Holidays."
 This rebellious old granny stands straight and tall and
 looks deep into her eyes, and says

"Merry Christmas".  

 She just looked at me with empty eyes.
 I could (and maybe should) have said so much more.

What that girl really needs is a hug. 
 And Jesus.

What is Christmas?
Christmas. Christ Mass. Worship of Christ. 
Christ - the anointed one, the Messiah.
 The Messiah -  savior, liberator, King, high priest.

Christmas is worship of Christ.

So where is He?  Where is JESUS? 

Jesus said to his followers, while he walked this earth,

"I am in my Father,

and you in me,

and I in you.

(John 14:20)

Let's not get so hung up on Jesus not being allowed 

on the courthouse lawns and the schools and the malls, 

that we forget the mystery of where he really is.

In Colossians 1:26-29,

the Apostle Paul, says, speaking to other followers of Jesus

and us,

"This mystery has been kept in the dark for a long time,

but now it's out in the open.

God wanted everyone, not just the Jews,

 to know this rich and glorious secret inside and out, 

regardless of their background, 

regardless of their religious standing.

 The mystery in a nutshell is just this: 

Christ in you, 

so therefore you can look forward to sharing in God's glory.

It's that simple.

That is the substance of our message. 

We preach Christ,

warning people not to add to the message.

We teach in a spirit of profound common sense

so that we can bring 

each person to maturity. 

To be mature is to be basic.

Christ!

No more, no less."

(The Message)

CHRIST IN YOU,

the hope of glory.

(Colossians 1:27 NIV)

Merry Christmas!