As I wait...

The family will be here in an hour or so. You'd think I would be frantically trying to clean/straighten/organize. Not me. I'm a "Mary" kind of person. I say that almost honestly. The problem is that while it's not crucial for me to have every speck of dust relegated to the trash heap there's a tiny part deep inside that really feels inadequate. You see, some of our guests today are used to linen napkins while 3-ply Vanity Fair is as close to linen as we'll get today. They pour tea from a crystal pitcher while the large plastic canister will have to suffice here. These are folks I love with all my heart, but I do occasionally feel like trailer park trash next to Beverly Hills glitz. Strange, but true.

On a happier note, Terry & I are trying out a '04 Ford FreeStar minivan. Who knows...we might actually buy it.

It's been quiet around here since Christmas Day. The Kids & Kidlettes departed and left the echoes of happy sounds. Oh, I've talked to all the girls & some of the kidlettes several times since Tuesday, but there've been no small feet running or tiny hands/knees crawling through the house. I've spent these few days napping, computering, studying and eating (which I'll have to give up on Jan 2nd). Terry's worked all but Wednesday so the quiet has almost shouted at me. But I'm one of those people who needs some serious downtime a lot more frequently than I get it. I could have filled my days off with activities, but the need for quiet introspection won out. And, yes, I'm ready for the human interaction again. Good thing, too, since tomorrow is Sunday, which will include church and my families' Christmas meal.

When the TV has been on this week, it's sad message of tiger attacks and martyrdom made me seek other things to do. Thankfully, I discovered iTunes about a year ago and the praise & worship music I've accumulated soothed my heart, mind & soul. And I'm ending the year reading in the book of Isaiah. God's message through this great prophet is not always a happy one, but it is always a hopeful one. There's so much of Jesus, the Christ, in Isaiah's writings and He's so much about hope and life. It's hard to stay sad when reading the scriptures.

I'm looking forward to tomorrow night w/ my mom, brother, sister-in-law, nephew & all our crew. We so seldom get a chance to be together. This year DaddyG has been on my mind more than ever. The first moment I see Darrell is always a shock; he's so much like DaddyG. Can you say "spittin' image"? There's also a funny side to our get-togethers. MomaG, Darrell, Kay & Craig are not used to the chaos associated with lots of little ones. You can see them begin to get antsy after about an hour. Oh, well, it's the price they pay for being kin to this prolific side of the family.

Christmas Day was a wonderful day at our house. Kids & Kidlettes started arriving about 9:30. Our friend, Janice, also joined us for a few hours. While brunch was warming/cooking, Kevin read the Christmas story from Luke 2:1-20 and led us in prayer. Marlee Kupcake was sitting in Papaw’s lap – next to Kevin. She didn’t make a peep but kept her eyes fixed on Kevin as he read the scripture. Occasionally she’d look back at her Papaw, eyes wide, then her gaze went right back to Kevin. She was enthralled.

One of the funniest scenes of the day was Marlee’s reaction when Papaw took off his cap. She would cry loudly until he put the cap back on. Needless to say, after trying to leave the cap off a couple of times, he finally relented and left it on.

The kids prepared all sorts of food: pancakes, sausage balls, ham/biscuits, stuffed crescent rolls, Morning muffins, breakfast pie and all sorts of snacks. For some reason I didn’t sleep well last night. Wonder why!

For Mamaw’s sake we open gifts one-at-a-time so we can see what each one has gotten. The Kidlettes racked up, as always. The adults didn’t do too badly, either. I got a digital picture frame – something I’ve been wanting; a shirt that says “Somebody special calls me Mamaw”. Make that 6.9 special somebodies. Papaw and I got calendars made with Katelee & Tucker’s artwork. I’ll try to scan some of those for later posts. There were several cameras flashing so I’ll have some pictures to post, too. My most special Christmas present was having all the family together for most of the day. The Kidlettes were in good moods, w/ the occasional whine when hunger or tiredness struck. It’s amazing to me that little ones can act so sweet when their little bodies, emotions and minds are on overload from all the food, attention and new stuff.

What a day! Thank You, Father, for all the blessings You’ve gifted us with.

He leaned against the splintered post, chewing a piece of straw, while surveying the scene before him. He should be tired, but he wasn't; and neither, apparently, was anyone else. The young teenaged boys sat in wide-eyed wonder, even after working all night. It was the strangest thing: They'd wandered in as if drawn there, as if they belonged. And he didn't have the heart to tell them to leave.

He almost laughed out loud at a tiny lamb that tripped over it's own feet, but his gaze caught the shy smile of his young wife and he didn't want her to think he was laughing at her. She'd been through such a difficult time and had handled it with a quiet dignity beyond her years. The rumor mill had run rampant; and many a time he'd wanted to stuff sackcloth in a gossiping old biddy's mouth. But his wife's calm acceptance of it all had taught him some lessons. He'd thought he would be the teacher in this relationship, but he was learning differently. She'd taught him that if he pleased God, he didn't have to please anyone else; and if he didn't please God, it didn't matter who else he pleased.

The young boys were looking at him with concern and he realized there was a whimpering sound coming from the makeshift bed. He glanced at Mary and saw that she was asleep. No need to wake her. He straightened from the post and walked over to the tiny Babe. Not much experience with infants, but this One apparently needed comforting and he was going to learn. Joseph didn't know why he'd been chosen, but he would give all he had to give to do the right thing.

He smiled in wonder as he picked up this Infant, this King, this Jesus.

~LaRue 2005

A small hand waved in the cold Bethlehem night....

The infant had somehow escaped his swaddling...again. He seemed to be directing some unseen orchestra. Before she tucked him back into the warm strips of cloth, the young mother checked...again...to make sure he had ten toes. She smiled at his dimpled knees. And she wondered at such an aristocratic nose on such a tiny face. As his soft, tiny hand brushed her soft, nurturing hand, she checked there for fingers and thumb; and lingered to look at his palm. A scripture from Isaiah, one she’d heard her brother repeat, came to mind. “Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands...” (Isaiah 49:16a nasb). This was the first of countless times in the next thirty-three years that she would ponder deep, hidden treasures in her heart. That same heart would turn over with laughter at a toddler’s antics; and catch in her throat with unshed tears when the crowds jeered him; and break half in two when she witnessed his death. But that was for later. For tonight, there was the joy of motherhood. She caught his tiny hand, tucked him close and knew she held a most precious gift in her arms
...really.

Merry Christmas with love,
Terry &LaRue

I’ll be hard pressed to relate all the wonderful events of last week. Thursday night our SS class went out to eat. Mind you, that’s not all we did. Katrina Estes Hill – author, illustrator & storyteller – entertained us with tales from her childhood. All her stories were in poem format and hilarious. Those of you raised on a farm or near a farm will be delighted by her books. We also played “dirty Santa”. We firmly believe in “stealing” and newbies get the brunt of this tradition. Bro. Kelly (minister of music) had a book, a pair of binoculars and a cake stolen from him. He did finally get a chance to steal the binoculars back & went home happy. My ladies are so nice to me all year ‘round, but at Christmas they shine. Last year I got a beautiful clock from them and this year they gave me the most beautiful afghan, which is a misnomer. It’s a rich wine color velvet that looks more like it should be the focal point on a wall somewhere.

Saturday MomaG & I went to Katelee & Tucker’s Christmas program dress rehearsal since we couldn’t attend Sunday night. Talk about a couple of little hams. They danced and sang with all their hearts. Katelee’s solo was great even though she was upset about some props that were missing.

Katey, Andy & I drove up to Memphis to eat dinner with Molly & Kevin and attend the Memphis Symphony Orchestra & Choir’s performance of Handel’s Messiah – the whole 3-hour piece. Words cannot describe how beautiful it was. We were all awestruck that one man could write all that. The only thing that would have made it more perfect would have been having Laurie with us, but at this stage of her pregnancy she definitely couldn’t sit through the performance, even with the intermission. The Cannon Center for Performing Arts is a huge place that can accommodate lots of activities at once. The auditorium where we were seats approximately 2200 people. Saturday night’s proceeds went to the Orphanos charity. It was so much fun to laugh with the kids – lots of laughter before & after the performance. We got home about midnight - late for this Mamaw.

Last night was the BBC cantata – On This Very Night – a labor of love and you could hear it in every part from the choir and the orchestra. It takes a lot to make something like that come together. Kudos to the choir, soloists, instrumentalists, sound guys, audio/visual team, narrators and Bro. Kelly. And hats off to those who volunteered to kept the nursery.

There's lots going on this week at work; then a long break. If nothing happens, we should be off all next week and the first two days of the next, coming back on January 2nd . Let’s hope nothing happens!

It was a nice weekend. I planned more for Saturday at home than I was able to accomplish. I wrote my own Christmas cards this year, and while that was done back in April (who knows why it came to me in April??) I didn’t leave enough time for printing. That’s how I spent Saturday morning. And naturally, when you need a printer to work efficiently, it doesn’t work at all. But they’re done and will go in the mail tomorrow.

Last night I went to Parkway for a bar-b-que supper and the Christmas cantata. There’s a young man named Matt who played 2 keyboards and a computer. It was magnificent, as was the entire cantata. The Parkway choir has an unusual amount of depth in all sections for a small church choir. I’d sit through it all again!

This will be a busy week. Darrell is coming over to spend a few days and we’re going out to dinner tonight with MomaG. Thursday night we’re going to the Country Squire for our Sunday School Christmas party. Saturday I’ll go to Katelee & Tucker’s dress rehearsal, then to Memphis for Handel’s Messiah. Sunday night is the cantata at BBC. Somewhere in there I need to work on Sunday school lesson preparation. (Genesis, praise God!) Whew! By then I’ll need to take a vacation.

Those who know me know that music is my heart, so even if I’m tired, it will be worth it. Merry Christmas with love.

Disappointment reigns. The Kindle did not help me. I think it is a great product – slightly pricey – for someone who is not fighting a battle with double vision. It only happens when I’m using my bifocals to read, so I’m back at my computer using the Libronix Library to read the NASB. I was excited and hopeful, but I’m not devastated that the Kindle didn’t work out. Thank goodness, Amazon has a great return policy.

There are numerous web sites that contain the New American Standard Bible that I could read from, but I chose to buy the Libronix version because I can highlight and make notes. The cross reference feature is easy to use and there are lots of other learning tools that came with it. So I’m satisfied that I have the best thing for me right now.

Laurie’s family is on the mend. They finally decided to join a blogging community. You can find them here. Don’t even ask what Kingmooka means.

Katey’s crew is working hard on their house. They probably won’t be in by Christmas but consider that a blessing now. It might have been too much stress to move during the holidays. Katey is in adult choir which will present their cantata Friday night & Sunday night. And the kids are in the children’s musical. Lots to keep them busy.

I’m hoping we’ll be off the week of Christmas. I am so looking forward to some family time.

The Kindle is coming! The Kindle is coming! They kept pushing the shipping date back as late as end of year, but I got notice today that it shipped and should arrive tomorrow. Can you guess how excited I am?!! Calm down. Remember, expectations sometimes exceed reality. You can bet I'll let everyone know if it works for me.

My first purchase for the Kindle was the New International Version of the Bible. My second choice, really, but the New American Standard Bible is not yet available in Kindle format. And, yes, I've already written to the Locman Foundation asking them to partner w/ Amazon to make the NASB available. I already have an extensive list of books I want to read, so restraining myself from such easy purchases will be a challenge. Can you say NO?

A trip to the ophthalmalogist yesterday resulted in a horrendous headache. In order to see the backs of my eyes to make sure nothing strange is going on, he had to shine lots of lights back there. Not fun. I don't have diabetes and there doesn't appear to be a brain tumor, so here's what's going on (he thinks): The vision in my left eye has worsened over the last couple of months and my brain (gee, aren't you glad to know I have one?) is refusing to connect info from my left eye with info from my right eye. Poor brain! I thought there was smoke coming out of my ears the other day.

The entire thing is filled with history, science, math, language, poetry, social studies and civics. Everything we need to know has its' foundation in this collection of books. We might not enjoy all those subjects, but there's one thing we can't resist: It's written by our Heavenly Father.

Today we started studying Genesis (beginning), not as history, but as His Story. The first four words of chapter 1 give us lots of information. Who? God. When? In the beginning. (Ours, not His. He has no beginning or end.) In the beginning God tells me that He planned it all and carried it all out. And our Father started early on eaching us about the Trinity. In fact, the first three verses tell us that at that moment of creation's beginning there was God, Spirit and Son. Oh, the Son is implied (and supported by many other scriptures) by "spoke". You see, John 1:1 tells us that In the beginning was the Word; and the Word was with God and the Word was God.

And if you look at Isaiah 40:22 you'll see that old Chris Columbus could have saved himself a trip. Over 2000 years before he sailed off in the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria God told us the earth was round. It is He who sits above the circle of the earth...

Of all creation, human beings are unique. God created us for a special relationship with Himself. And at first that relationship was perfect. Do you think Adam and God had fun naming all the animals? A black & white striped four legged animal scampers by and Adam turns to God and says, "Zebra?" God says, "That's good Adam. I like that name." But you know, as much fun as God must have had creating the zebra, He didn't plan to die for the zebra. And He probably smiles when He smells a rose, but He wasn't going to shed His life's blood for a rose. He formed Adam from the dust of the earth and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. (Genesis 2:7)

And God did all this, knowing one day He would lay aside His glory and come to earth to tabernacle with us. He became one of us, only sinless, so that He could save whoever would believe in Him. He lived; He died; He rose again. And He did it for you and me. It's all part of His story and you can read about it in the Bible. When you've read it, or re-read it, go out and tell someone the story of Jesus. They're waiting to hear.