And the Stars Shone Bright

 Well, these stars are not the kind that shine in the sky, but they sure do cheer up a homemade wreath and homemade decorations!

This plain wreath my daughter Rose and her cousin Candace found in Mom and Dad's shed a few weeks ago when Rose and I were back in Missouri after my father's death.  Candace had made Christmas stars from soda, cornstarch, and water! And she added those and some other bright decor to the wreath, and this is to go to my mother this evening there in Missouri. Candace sent me the picture, and it was so pretty, I wanted to share it.  

Meanwhile, in Colorado, Rose used the same recipe and made her own stars and dehydrated orange slices and cranberries, stringing them for piano decorations!

So pretty!  

I love when young ladies spend their time creatively and thoughtfully, doing things for others with simple homespun ingredients and love! 

Something  else shone bright, my sister Dorcas noted, after this photo was sent out that someone snapped only a short time before my father passed away, when the family gathered in to sing.

"Did anyone else notice the rays of light beaming down?" Dorcas noted. 

 

"Silent night, holy night; Son of God loves pure light. 

Radiant beams from Thy holy face,

With the dawn of Redeeming Grace. 

Jesus, Lord at Thy birth!

Jesus, Lord at Thy birth!"

Lord, what would we ever do without Your redeeming grace?

An Ice Heart

Last week at our place in South Dakota, Tim bundled up in coat, boots, and gloves, and took off to the river to get a sunrise photo. 

Was he ever surprised at what he found!

A heart carved out of ice in the river! 

I definitely begged for this photo from him!

And this one! 

Talk about cold!

 And we were only too glad later that day, about dark, to finally get the pipe in for the woodstove and get the first fire started in our house!

There's nothing like a wood fire to warm up a cold house--and a cup of coffee! 

Boy and dog alike enjoying the heat from the wood stove,

with the heart of ice left far behind. 

Warm my heart, Lord, with Your love and fire. Carve Your heart in our ice, that the River of Your Love may show shimmering through. 

What Dad Left Behind

Dad didn't leave much behind when he crossed over to the Other Side. 

The clothing he owned took up about 12 inches of closet space and one or two drawers in the bedroom.

He had several pairs of shoes, sandals, and slippers, most of them very old and used. 

He left behind about a dozen coats and jackets on some hooks near the front door.  

And some blankets and medical supplies. 

A computer and desk, a single box of memorabilia. 

A bass fiddle that Dad used to try to play, hitting all the wrong notes and usually even the wrong beats, but when he was playing it, he was not here anyway--

he was in heaven somewhere!

Some tools, grocery items, and some other stuff.

About the only new personal things left behind were three sets of suspenders,

 including these red ones, Mom said, in case he'd need them some time down the road!

 

What he did leave behind were things of far more value--like a godly wife. (Grandson Andrew and Heather sent her these flowers a few days after Dad passed.) .

 Mom was the best choice Dad ever made in his life. 

She stuck by him all these years. Sixty years.

And then Dad left behind nine children--whose families were so involved in missions, music, and ministry that the memorial service had to wait a few weeks. Parts of three families were scheduled to fly to Mexico for a ten-day mission work trip days after Dad passed away.

We knew Dad would not have wanted them to cancel their trip--although they were considering it, so they all flew and the memorial service waited while they worked on a roof and conducted a VBS.

Another family was scheduled for a ten-day Christmas concert tour. 

We knew Dad would not have wanted them to cancel, so they went ahead with that.   

And since the memorial service isn't scheduled till December 29th, our family made a ten-day mission work trip to South Dakota. We know Dad would have been pleased.

He left behind 54 grand children and 8 great grands with more on the way.

And when I was back there in Missouri with my mom a couple days after Dad died, I discovered something else he'd left behind. 

His Bible. 

Actually, there was more than one. There was the big old NKJV he'd used every day for family worship, and another old Bible that must have been many years old. 

There was his Sunday Bible inside a case that he took to church every Sunday--clear up until just two or three weeks before he died.

And another giant print Bible.

I wondered what verses were on the page where Dad's very old butterfly bookmark was, gifted him by someone. 

It was Romans 10. 

Not much in Dad's Bible was underlined but on this page, several verses were marked, including this one. 

"That if you shall confess with your the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved."

Part of the Roman Road, a verse that shows the way to salvation--confessing and believing. 

Underlined in blue pen.  

I thought about a memory Dorcas shared about Dad. Dad had told told many times in our programs, how as a young man out of the Air Force and college, he was attending a service at a Methodist revival meeting, thinking how righteous and good he was. Why, he had attended church all his life, sung in the church choir, never drunk a drop of liquor. Yet the Lord pointed His finger at him and said, "You are the worst sinner here tonight!" And that is when Dad went forward and turned his life over to the Lord.

 Their last seven years in Missouri were probably some of their best years. 

It's hard to believe they've lived there seven years--the longest they have ever lived in any one place.

And what Dad left behind isn't just in Missouri, in the very humble, dilapidated little abode he used to live in with Mom. 

It is all over the United States, and in fact, into the uttermost part of the earth, whether Mexico or Mongolia or Ukraine or Africa--

 

in terms of the beautiful feet of children and grandchildren going abroad to spread the good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people--

whether being involved in missions and VBS's, delivering Bibles, working with Pro-life activities, teaching or any other ministry.

 What Dad did leave behind will not soon rust or fade away.

Stairs to the Attic--And What Access Means

  Last week Jonathan, Tim, Danny and I spent several more days working on our house in South Dakota.

Jonathan had kept tabs on the weather and saw that last week was supposed to be up in the high 30s or 40, and decided we'd come up to South Dakota and try to get some more work done on the house.

We took along propane and stayed at night in the 5th wheel travel trailer, where I also made our meals and hung out, trying to stay warm. 

Meanwhile, Jonathan and the boys set several windows and doors.  

 Every window and door set meant less cold and wind and snow going through the house this winter!

Jonathan had gotten this basement sliding door on clearance somewhere.

But what I was most excited about was stairs finally going in, so that we could get up and down between floors without having to go around outside or figure out a way to climb up the wall!  

The stairs from the hall to the attic went in first.

Wow! Now I could climb up and see the attic and watch Danny as he laid OSB floor all by himself!

"Wow!" I thought. "Finally we have access to the attic!"  

And then the boys and Jonathan built a landing and set the two sets of steps for the stairs from the first floor to the basement. 

And "Wow!" I thought. "Now we can finally reach upstairs or downstairs in seconds, now that we have stairs."

Finally there was access. Access. 

"But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ...For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father." Eph. 2:14, 18.

It is interesting to note that in this very passage, Paul uses metaphors of a building, or remodeling, you might say, of breaking down a wall of separation. But we get the same idea by going to a  house that is just being built that as yet has no stairs. You can't get up and you can't get down. You can't reach the kitchen from the basement unless you go outside and walk up the hill and come in the back door. Then you can't get from the laundry room to the basement without doing exactly the opposite. And you certainly can't reach the attic unless you climb the wall!

 And who could ever reach the roof without a ladder?

Jesus is our stairs to the Father, our ladder to God. Because of our sins, we were separated from God. We couldn't reach Him. But Jesus became our set of stairs, our ladder, our wonderful way of access. We have but to climb that Ladder between earth and heaven to quickly reach our heavenly Father!

Lord, by the stairs and the ladder of the name of Jesus, we come to You this evening in worship, adoration, and prayer! Thank You for being our access to God. When our sins kept us from Him, thank You for loving us more than we deserved and providing a way for us to reach God! Thank You for coming down that first Christmas and setting the first rung in the ladder, the first step in the staircase to God and heaven.

We love you, Jesus!

Though Scarlet--Our Christmas Tree This Year

The first day of December, most of our family made a quick trip to the mountains to choose a Christmas tree.

Jonathan noticed this one!

"Our Christmas tree this year!" he cried. "Just like our year has gone!"

Twisted, tangled, and all messed up! :)

We did actually find another one that looked a little better! 

And it didn't take us long to find it. Amazingly, all of us agreed on it, too! I had insisted on a smaller tree since all our Christmas tree ornaments (and nearly all our other Christmas decor and wrap) are up stored in South Dakota where we were supposed to be by now. 

The tree we settled on was actually a tall tree, but with a very narrow, long trunk, which we could cut off wherever we chose.

And Jonathan, who knew I was missing any Christmas ornaments, had ordered this set of Names of Jesus ornaments online.   

We had to add the little bows with hot glue.  

Hannah did that job.  

 

 I loved them! 

I like for all that we do, even the decorating of our Christmas tree, to be to the glory of God.

This can be done in a variety of ways, but this year, this is how we did it. 

And I loved how the red and white theme matched the flowers Jonathan had bought for me

to give to me upon my arrival home from Missouri, where I'd driven with Tim just after the death of my dad. 

 The ones pictured above are just part of the flowers after I later divided them into two vases.

As soon as I saw those flowers, I was reminded of a verse my mom and dad had taught me as a very little girl, when they were starting to have us children memorize ABC verses from the Bible. 

It was the verse for the letter C.

"Come now, and let us reason together, says the Lord. Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool."

Isaiah 1:18

That verse hit me in the face in such a powerful way after my father's death. 

 

Because when someone dies, you come face to face with the reality of eternity, and where that person will spend eternity.

And where you will spend eternity. 

And you think about their sins,

and your own. 

And you know that if it weren't for the blood of Christ, no one would get to spend eternity in heaven with Him,

no matter how many good works he or she or you have done.  

Because our awful sins have outweighed every last good deed we have ever done. 

And apart from Christ's blood there is no atonement.  

My forgiveness of those who have wronged me does not atone for their sins--

only Christ's death atones for sins.  

So whether I have forgiven someone or not, if they are trusting in Christ to cover their sins, those sins are forgiven.

And whether someone else has forgiven me or not, if I am trusting Christ alone for my salvation, then my sins are forgiven by God.

But it sure helps me a lot to know that I have forgiven, as well.  

It helps me to think that if I can forgive by God's grace, then surely a good and merciful God can also forgive sins.

And if with all our heart we throw ourselves on His mercy and grace,

repenting of and confessing our sins and turning from them, 

believing in His atonement and death,

believing in Jesus Christ our Lord,

then our sins which were as scarlet, shall become as white as snow.

 And the sins which were red like crimson, shall be as wool--washed and bleached.

 

Lord,  I am so thankful You are the judge of other people's hearts, and not I. 

I can just see both Peter the apostle and the thief on the cross strolling across heaven together,

I have to wonder if a forgiving Uriah wasn't the first to meet the forgiven David to welcome him inside the Heavenly Sheepfold. 

I can just imagine the Jewish heroine, Queen Esther, reaching across the waves of Jordan to take the hand of the humiliated woman caught in adultery whom the Pharisees brought to Jesus,

and godly Mary, mother of Jesus, clasping the hand of Mary Magdalene, cleansed from seven devils. 

And the perfect Job escorting some last-minute convert to eat of heavenly fruit. 

I can just sit in awe that humbled Pharisees and exalted, repentant publicans alike will make it to heaven. 

I am just so thankful for Your promises, for the Way that You have made through Christ, for us to be saved from our sins--

not to continue living in them, but to forsake them and repent of them and be transformed from them into a new creature who loves You and loves others--even those who have hurt and wounded us.

I have been in South Dakota the last nine or ten days and didn't get to enjoy that red and white theme very much this year, 

but our red and white Christmas theme this year is a precious reminder, 

that "though scarlet," our sins can be made "white as snow."

Thank You, precious Jesus!