Making Room...

When Kyle took me on our blessed weekend get-away a few weeks ago, one Bible Book Store we visited had the new Casting Crowns Christmas CD on sale so we picked it up. (One of our traditions is to get a new CD each Christmas so it was perfect.) I've listened to it numerous times since opening it yet yesterday as I was in the kitchen working, I had it playing and a specific phrase stuck out to me. Last night before bed I took Kyle, the music man he is, into the kitchen to listen to it with me and as we listened another phrase caught my attention...

For the King has left His throne
And is sleeping in a manger tonight, tonight
Oh Bethlehem, what have you missed while you were sleeping
For God became a man
And stepped into your world today
Oh Bethlehem, you will go down in history
AS A CITY WITH NO ROOM FOR ITS KING

I asked Kyle, "How many kings do you know of in the Bible where there was no room for them in their province?" As we discussed it we came to the conclusion that for most kings it was the contrary...ALL kings had kingdoms, thrones, palaces, servants...they wanted for nothing yet Jesus left Heaven and as King entered into a town where there was NO room for Him to be born much less dwell.

Mary shivers in the cold
Trying to keep the Savior warm
Born among the animals wrapped in dirty rags
BECAUSE THERE WAS NO ROOM FOR HIM IN THE WORLD HE CAME TO SAVE
United States of America
Looks like another silent night
As we're sung to sleep by philosophies
That save the trees and kill the children
And while we're lying in the dark
There's a shout heard 'cross the eastern sky
For the Bridegroom has returned
And has carried His bride away in the night
America, what will we miss while we are sleeping
Will Jesus come again
And leave us slumbering where we lay
America, will we go down in history
AS A NATION WITH NO ROOM FOR ITS KING

Hearing these words found us asking ourselves, "How many days go by where we make no room for our King?" Jesus came from the perfection of Heaven, here, to this cruel earth to save US...how can we not make room for Him in our second-to-second, minute-to-minute, hour-to-hour, day-to day lives!?!

I purpose to MAKE ROOM for my KING...He deserves the most valuable part of my life! He gave EVERYTHING for me!

Thank you Jesus for finding reason to invest in me! Thank you for loving me and giving Your life for me! Thank you for giving purpose to my life and for choosing to dwell with me and in me! Thank you for being in my presence! I am forever in love with you!

Traditions...

Christmas Traditions

MaKayla D. O’Riley Christmas 2009

With the Christmas season rapidly approaching, I decided to do some research on our holiday traditions, especially the Christmas tree. This custom is very special in my family, as it is a fun project to work on together. We do not go out and cut down a live tree, but we do decorate an artificial one with lights, ribbons, and ornaments. This is a special time that I especially enjoy and it is also a way for our family to develop traditions of our own, such as my sister and I getting a new ornament each year!

As I did my research, it was very interesting to see how the practice was started and the different ways people celebrate. I hope that by the time you have finished reading this paper you will have a better understanding of how the Christmas tree custom came to be!

Although decorating an Evergreen tree is a symbol of the holidays and is a modern ritual of today, it originated long ago in early B.C. There has been and continues to be much controversy as to the use of these trees among different peoples and religions, due to the fact that pagans were the first to use them in their superstitious worship.

This fact led me to research what “pagan” commonly means and its main definition is “ All non-Christians or those who participate in Satanic practices”. Many people disagree about this topic as well, but this is the most widely accepted view.

The pagans would go out and cut down an Evergreen tree and place it in their homes as an idol. They then adorned it with metal ornaments and replicas of their gods. To them the trees represented life and freshness. They thought the tree had magical powers because although all other living plants died and lost their color, it remained green. They also viewed it as a sign of fertility and reproduction as they thought it increased sexual potency due to its “power” to sustain life. To them it was a promise that spring would come and a symbol of hope. The Bible has proof of this pagan worship in Jeremiah 10: 2-4.

Thus saith the Lord, “Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them. For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the ax. They deck it with silver and with gold: they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it will not move.”

Eventually, word of this pagan practice reached all religions and each began this custom as well, yet each had their own reasons for doing so. For some it was used as an idol, for some Christians it was a sign of the birth of Jesus Christ and a symbol for the promise of eternal life in Him. For still others, it became just a sign of the Christmas holiday and the traditional festivities.

Because of its origin there is still much disagreement today over whether or not it is right for a Christian or any non-pagan to participate in this pagan practice. Most consider it just a part of Christmas and because even the pagans view it as a sign of hope, there is nothing wrong with this tradition.

I believe that this is an area in which God wants us to look at the motives of our hearts and each person decide for themselves how they will/should celebrate. Although I do not necessarily see this custom as “wrong” if you do it with the right heart and do not allow the tree to become the focus during Christmas, I do think that it is important for us a Christians to see what we allow to define our holiday traditions. I know that I am very guilty of seeing “Christmas” as shopping, decorations, family, gifts, and traditions. I allow those things to define a time of year that Christ desired to be set apart for Him.

So, I encourage you this season to examine your heart. Look where your focus is at, as I have done, and see what you will allow to define your Christmas this year!

Snowed In...

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...

It snowed in the morning...

It snowed in the afternoon...

It snowed in the evening...

Well, they said a winter storm was going to hit...and it did!!! The snow started falling Monday evening and continued through Tuesday morning and continued throughout the day. By mid-afternoon I was beginning to wonder if Kyle would be able to make it home from work since we live kind of out in the middle of no-where...a place where the reality of snow plows is nearly non-existent. Gratefully he did make it home safe, although later than normal, and the snow continued to fall. Tuesday evening brought the news that most everything was closing down...including the factory where Kyle works at. Kyle has worked at the same place of employment for over twenty-years and this is the first time he or I can ever remember work being cancelled. Needless-to-say, there was alot of excitement going on in our home knowing that we were going to have a "Family Snow Day" on Wednesday!!! We stayed up late Tuesday night watching a Christmas movie, just enjoying the thought that ALL of us would get to sleep in the next morning...we were SNOWED IN!!!


We did get a great deal of snow however the high winds made the winter storm even worse due to the drifting and below-zero temperatures! As of right now, it appears to be -5 with a wind-chill of -20 and we have huge drifts everywhere! Kyle did go to work this morning but had to drive through the yard in order to get to the road in front of our house as our driveway is impassable!

Out our front window...you can see the snow blowing off the top of the drift...

The drifts are were waist high on Kyle...

The four-of-us had so much fun yesterday drinking coffee, cappuccino and hot chocolate, catching up on our advent readings, sharing what God is doing in our lives and in our family, watching movies, singing Christmas carols playing Skip-Bo, creating paper snowflakes, listening to Christmas music and working on other craft projects. I put on a big pot of ham and beans for supper and made a large pan of cornbread...YUMMY! :o)




Us girls hated to see Kyle go back to work today however we so cherished the time we had with him yesterday! It will be one of those distinct memories that we will tightly cling to throughout the years to come!

The sparkling beauty God left us this morning...

Thanksgiving Memories...

As I have went about my day today, I was thinking back to the special times we had as a family over Thanksgiving, both here at home and with both sides of my family. They were times of comfort, fun, food, and fellowship!

One tradition in our family, is to always have our dinner just the four of us the day before Thanksgiving. Mom, Mal and I went and got groceries that morning and then came home and started cooking. The first thing we make each year is our "Hot Sipper", a fruity, cinnamon, hot juice which we drink in our tea cups while reading some Thanksgiving books!

I LOVE this doing this each year!!!

Mal and I wanted to set the table to make it look fancy, so while Mom got things ready to start supper, we decorated the dining room table! We then made our traditional Cornish Hens (Dad was home in time to help with those), along with garlic mashed potatoes, Stove Top Stuffing, green beans, and crescent rolls! It was DELICIOUS!!! We also made a strawberry cheesecake for dessert, but by the time our evening was over we were all too tired and full to eat it! :-)

Dad having a little "too much fun" with the hens!?!

Before...

After!

Our beautiful table!

Enjoying our meal!

Strawberry Cheesecake!

This year was extra special for some reason and I praise God for the special memories that we made!

My New Treasure...

I just had to share a picture of my new treasure that Kyle thought I had to bring home from our weekend get-away...


The best part is that he makes me a pot of coffee each morning and pours me a nice big cup before he leaves for work! A simple act of love, yet one that starts my day off just right!

Tucked Deep...

Much has happened around our home the past few months (years) that have whittled away at my spiritual, mental and emotional bank of life. The continual whittling finally caught up and left me completely overdrawn Wednesday evening. After a small incidence right before putting our girls to bed that night, Kyle found me on the floor nestled in a corner of our kitchen silently weeping. He drew me in close to himself and the silent tears turned to uncontrollable sorrow. I was hurting...he was broken. I was empty...he was desperate. I've always been able to "pull myself together and rise to the occasion", but my emptiness was so great that all I could do was succumb to the weakness I was feeling. Kyle offered to purchase me an individual ticket to Tucson and place me on a plane first thing Thursday morning so that I could get away and spend time with my very best friend from high school but I knew with him and the Lord was where I most needed to be. After a few hours of letting me cry, he put me to bed where he spoke, read and prayed scripture over me until rest and peace overtook my body and I fell asleep in his arms. Thursday he left work early, packed our bags and took me away for the weekend. We somewhat had this excursion, in shortened version, planned previously but due to several factors, one being me finding it hard to leave MaKayla and Mallary, I individually had decided we would just disregard the idea and stay home...it was a more "comfortable resolution". He on the other hand knew the breaking point I was at and gave me no choice in the matter. We left shortly after noon on Thursday and spent from that time until late Saturday evening together...investing in one another and in the Lord. It was a time I needed...he needed...we needed! He nurtured me, he loved me, he held me, he taught me, he renewed me. We laughed...we cried...we learned...we rested...we found renewal...individually and as a team. We shared so many things in our time together...things that make me smile when I think of them...

Jelly Bellies
an enormous bed
Philly Steak and Cheese
cozy fireplace
heartaches
Panera Carmel Latte'
prayer
Medium-Rare New York Strip
Pepsi
an inviting hot tub
dreams
Raspberry Truffle Cappuccino
new revelations
Bacon Cheeseburger
God's Word
goals
convictions
Foot-long Subway sandwich
Christmas ideas
fears
White Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Cheesecake
a quaint room
soft music
new shoes...
MUCH LOVE!!!

It was oh so hard to see our time together come to a close yet each memory we made, each tear we cried, each laugh we shared...I have forever tucked away deep within my heart. I am so thankful that this was not the end of something but only the beginning of a new season in our relationship with the Lord as individuals, in our marriage, in our family... Many of life's satisfactions are short-lived and bring temporary fulfillment yet my God, who has known me from the beginning of time, has blessed my life with this man who I am honored to call my own. He is mine to love, to hold, to care for, to nurture, to sharpen, to forgive, to grow old with... He created Kyle just for me and he is the richest gift besides my salvation in Jesus Christ that I could ever have been given. As the Lord showed me last week, the union that Kyle and I share together is the next most important relationship in line to the one I have with my Maker, Creator and Savior. Kyle is my Jesus in the flesh and I will forever be in love with him.

As I journaled this morning:
God, I so love you and I bless you for giving me a man, a leader, a provider, a protector, a lover, a best friend, a teacher, a healer, a counselor...a man after Your own heart. I thank you for Kyle and the sweet and precious memories made this past weekend. I will tuck them deep within my heart, always to be remembered! He is my everything and my richest gift from you!