Merry Christmas 2005!

Merry Christmas to You!


Mick and I are happy to have found The Creek Church and made new friends there. During one sermon, a pastor was talking about how Jesus often performed miracles among ordinary events—that people don’t need to look far, or search for thunderbolts crashing in the clouds, because God is with us always. In this way, I look to Jesus during different points in life. Sometimes Jesus is handy with a plunger. Yelling “Stop! Stop!” didn’t do any good because Davin shoved something in the toilet anyways. Sometimes Jesus is the friend, at the other end of the prayer, whose shoulder I can cry on. Sometimes Jesus is the cheerleader (really cool how he can set those pom-poms on fire with just a wiggle of the eyebrow) giving me encouragement or hope. But right now, Jesus is a toddler. Watching Davin and Jaelynn grow so much during the year, literally taking leaps and bounds with each step, has made me wonder what Jesus was like as a child. My thoughts about Jesus as a child are endless… What were the first words Jesus spoke? Did Jesus ever get into trouble, and how do you give the Son of God a spanking? What kind of toys or games kept Jesus entertained? Did Jesus even feel like a child? These questions led me on a journey, both in motherhood and in faith.

Quite unexpectedly, I received an insight. One night I put Jaelynn to bed, and cuddled next to her. The winter sky was clear with moonlight shimmering through purple clouds. As I said a “good-night” prayer to Jaelynn, she lifted a small hand and tugged at my hair. The answer seemed so simple—unconditional love. Throughout his adventures, mischief and growth—Jesus was learning. All of these experiences, beginning in childhood, became the foundation for which Jesus would reach out to humanity through his ministry. Unconditional love guided Jesus to walk on this Earth, embody the human experience, and through his death, receive salvation for all. Our children are a blessing, to open our hearts to give and receive unconditional love, and through love gain a deeper connection to God.

I wish all of you a Merry Christmas! My gift to you is the following verses, which I found to be very inspiring. May your heart and home shine with love, happiness, and the grace of God.

Lynn Mari, ©2005
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Love With All My Heart: Inspirational Verses About God’s Love

John 1:16-18, “Out of the fullness of his grace he has blessed us all, giving us one blessing after another. God gave the Law through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. The only Son, who is the same as God and is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.”

Rumi, A Just-Finishing Candle. “ A candle is made to become entirely flame. In that annihilating moment it has no shadow.”

Isaiah 40:26,” Look up at the sky! Who created the stars you see? The one who leads them out like an army, he knows how many there are and calls each one by name! His power is so great—not one of them is ever missing!”

Rachel Naomi Remen, MD, Kitchen Table Wisdom, p. 118. “ Suffering shapes the life force, sometimes into anger, sometimes into blame and self pity. Eventually it may show us the freedom of loving and serving life.”

(Psalm 139 was read at Jaelynn’s Dedication in July 2005) Psalm 139: 13-16, “ …You created every part of me; you put me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because you are to be feared; all you do is strange and wonderful. I know it with all my heart. When my bones were being formed, carefully put together in my mother’s womb, when I was growing there in secret, you knew that I was there—you saw me before I was born. The days allotted to me had all been recorded in your book, before any of them ever began.”

Khalil Gibran, The Prophet, p. 26. “And all work is empty save when there is love; And when you work with love you bind yourself to yourself, and to one another, and to God.”

Isaiah 66:12-13,” The Lord says,’ I will bring you lasting prosperity; the wealth of the nations will flow to you like a river that never goes dry. You will be like a child that is nursed by its mother, carried in her arms, and treated with love. I will comfort you in Jerusalem, as a mother comforts her child.”

Jewel, Spirit. “We are loved beyond our ability to comprehend.”

Colossians 1:20,” Through the Son, then God decided to bring the whole universe back to himself. God made peace through his Son’s death on the cross and so brought back to himself all things, both on earth and in heaven.”
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*Bible verses from the Good News Bible, American Bible Society, 1976.
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