Genealogy

So many Jewish genealogies begin with Abraham. Abraham is the father of many nations, not just Isaac and Israel. He was before the law. I like that he was justified by simply believing in God.

When I sit with the Matthew 1 scripture, I see that four women are listed in Jesus' genealogy. Historic Israel is very patriarchal, male-oriented. Genealogies never list women. And if you were a woman, your security was in bearing children and your continuity was in a son.

By God's wanting women in the list is a wake-up call to pay attention, because these are human points of God's intervention. Israel practiced exclusion of peoples whereas here God shows His initiative of inclusion. As I read between the lines and try walking in their shoes I fall in love with God more.

Tamar was a Canaanite. Hebrew law said that if your husband died without an heir you were to be given to the brother, so a seed/heir of the tribe/family could carry on. Since her father-in-law refused to follow through, she took things into her own hands, producing twins from the father-in-law. Read the story. For the first time in both the Joseph and Tamar stories Judah acknowledged his wrong. He claimed the twin sons as legally his. It's as if Tamar with the son Perez (which means "a break in the wall") created the transition for Judah to become the patriarch the Lord called him to be.

Rahab was an alien prostitute who displayed faith in God from hearing the stories that preceded the Israelites' coming. Her desire was beyond her, but to preservation for her family. She married Salmon and had Boaz. I'm imagining: being brought up by a foreigner who has to learn the faith from scratch and maybe interjecting a bit of her own pagan background into the stories. It all seems a bit scandalous, yet God blessed their unions with sons. God's grace is for all.

Ruth has more 'story' in the Bible to actually read. She was a Moabite, who were hated by the Jews. Her ancestry goes back to Lot and the incestial union with his daughter. Yet God blessed that with a son. (Conception & birth was all a mystery totally attributed to God.) God's hospitality is not decided by blood, birth, race or nationality. Ruth and Boaz seem to have healed the family tree that pre-dates the law.

Then there's Bathsheba. Adultery. I've come to maybe even call it rape. I remember a story Philip Yancey told about a King that loved a maiden. He didn't want to force his desire of marriage because he'd always wonder if she really loved him. So he cast aside his king stuff and became a pauper so he could woo her love. That's the Jesus story. David's story is so opposite. How could she say no to the king!

These stories Jesus heard over and over again as a boy growing up. All these women made themselves available to God just as they were - they were real. We do not have to leave behind who we are in order to receive God's acceptance. God desires all of who we are - not perfection. Our redemption and transformation depends more on our response to God's love and desire for us.

You can see these women's stories in all the people Jesus reached out to. We still have Tamars, Rahabs, Ruths, and Bathshebas today. God still loves them and desires to redeem their stories and embrace them.

Week 3 of Advent

The prompt for remembrance this morning at church for last weeks candle was, where was Jesus born? Shouldn't a king be born in a castle? We try and build castles. Jesus chose to be born in a deep, dark, dirty place - our heart. And when we desire to live with Him, Jesus makes of our lives way more than we ever dreamed.

This third week is the shepherd's candle and story. When our hearts are open and we let love enter, we can know joy! The shepherds knew the joy (after the initial fear!) as the angel of the Lord appeared to them, glorifying and praising God, "We have news of great joy" to share.

Shepherds? Why did God choose Shepherds to be the first to hear and worship and share the news with all? Shepherds were the lowest of society, like outcasts.

The shepherds went and saw the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. Jesus belongs to all.

Cookies

I'm baking cookies today. It's snowing outside, Dawson went skiing with friends (he's so excited to have finished his school semester well and is celebrating) and the cookstove is crackling and giving off it's extra warmth.

Ever since I read the book Papa's Wife, that my Swedish Mother-in-law gave me years ago, I've always kept St Lucia day, the 13th, in the back of my mind as a good day to begin baking cookies. The book, which is a series, and I have her cookbook, is cute read. The author Thyra Ferre Bjorn is Swedish (can't you tell?) and tells her story. She begins as a young gal in Sweden, becoming a housekeeper for an older bachelor pastor, whom she ends up marrying. A fun thing in the story is her deciding she needs to stare at an angel during her pregnancies, so the kids will turn out well behaved (and I think she had 7 kids).

I couldn't do cookies yesterday. And I was going to focus on finishing Heather's wedding outfit today. But with the activities coming, I decided I needed some cookies to be done for giving.

St Lucia Day

Because of our Swedish heritage, we've celebrated St Lucia day for years. I have a Lucia doll that's 30 years old. Tradition has the oldest daughter wear a candle wreath on her head and serve breakfast treats in bed.

Lucia, or Lucy, means "light." Lucia was born in the third century in Sicily of Greek parentage. She was brought up Christian by her mother in times of great persecution. Lucia had been betrothed to a pagan. With her mother's permission she gave her dowry away to persons in need. Her betrothed was furious and denounced her as a Christian. She was martyred in 304, still clinging to her faith in Christ. Lucia held the Light of Christ for all to see in the cultural darkness.

The Scandinavians really celebrate her day. At this time of year the sun barely makes it over the horizon, so they hold great festivals of lights. It is believed her story reached them through missionary Vikings, and was strengthened by a legend:

In the Middle Ages there was a famine in Sweden, "Varmland." Just when the starving people were giving up hope, a huge ship appeared. The boat contained food, and clothes. They saw a maiden in white with a glowing crown and long golden hair at the ship's helm. Once the cargo was unloaded the ship vanished. They believe the maiden to be Santa Lucia.

I used to always make something ahead, like lucia buns or muffins, and had the coffee pot ready to push the on-button. We also talked of possibilities the kids could do for themselves like hot cocoa. Then Heather (and Travis) could "surprise" us in the morning.

After reading Matt 5:14-16, sing "This Little Light of Mine." You could read Matt 10:26-33 to connect with Lucia standing in her faith even to the point of death. It killed her body but not her soul. I also think of Jesus' parable of the 10 bridesmaids who took their lamps to meet the bridegroom. Five were prepared, awake and aware to see the bridegroom.

If we're turned in on ourselves, we cannot reflect the light of God's likeness. But if we're awake and aware in Jesus, we can see God in our midst in our daily lives and reflect His image to those we come in contact with.

Creche

I love my nativity set. I look forward to unpacking it. I made the figures. I call them my 'bean bag' nativity. It's actually my second set I've made and a lot nicer than the first. The first set lasted about 25 years and was simpler. This newer set has real wool fabric I washed to felt up and sheep wool for the hair and beards. And I looked for miniatures, like for the wise men to carry. And Dawson found 'crooked' sticks and whittled them for shepherd staffs. The sheep have real fleece too.

When the kids were little I wanted them to be able to play with the figures, move them around, and enact the drama. Sometimes the wise men would be off in the distant, traveling from 'afar'. Baby Jesus really shouldn't show up until Christmas morning...

I also have a dragon in my creche...


Why?...Because of Revelation 12 of course. (There's a dragon waiting for the woman to give birth so it can devour the baby.) It's wool I totally wet felted from sheep wool and then cut out, sewed and stuffed.

I've made other nativity figures over the years. I still have a salt dough one I've kept, though it's starting to have pieces break off. But it's sentimental...but only because of it's story. The figures did start out about 7" tall, but flattened out in the oven. So I call it my 'squat nativity'.


Then I have a corn husk one. I could probably make it better now...but don't. It sits on a little table in our entry way.

Advent - Week 2

Yesterday, both at church and home for lunch, we lit both the first prophecy candle and now the second candle. Dawson's girlfriend Splara (really Sarah) came home with us and we had a White Chili I had made the day before. It is so good and is another food I periodically crave.

So we were all together, which is going to dwindle down soon to three of us, and really just Monte and me, since Dawson's not home much. But Heather flies out Wednesday to meet her fiance coming home from Iraq and then getting married. So she's been on and off living at home over the last decade and now gone for good.

This second week's candle in the Advent wreath is the Bethlehem candle. The bedraggled Joseph and Mary searched for a place to sleep after traveling. "Love" was born in Bethlehem and Love asks us to be open.

I love the the song "Oh Little Town of Bethlehem" written around 1868 by Phillip Brooks. During a sabbatical he traveled from Jerusalem to Bethlehem by horseback on Dec 24. He imagined Mary and Joseph on their journey and the field of the shepherds. He was overcome by the beauty and felt the peace. He then attended a five hour service at the Church of the Nativity. This experience never left him and he wrote the song for his church's children's choir to sing.

"How proper it is that Christmas should follow Advent. For him who looks toward the future, the manger is situated on Golgotha, and the cross has already been raised in Bethlehem."
- Dag Hammarskjold

This reminds me of a drawing a friend's son drew while doodling in church. He had the manger with a cross behind it and a crown hanging over the cross. I liked the image so much (I'm so visual and need images/icons to remind my heart) that I've drawn one for myself and added a lamb laying in front of the manger.

'Graffiti' in our house

I have said, "I love quotes" and that in our house there's a couple places quotes are written and I said I'd post pictures of them. The above old slate board is in the kitchen above the toaster on the kitchen table. I'm the one who usually writes here. Sometimes it can be used for the menu, but more often it's quotes.

The candle on the table is a drip candle over a wine bottle. There was a restaurant in Tucson, where I grew up, that burned drip candles everytime it was open. Before us moving to Colorado the candle was as high as the ceiling and candles were being burnt on it's 'shoulders' and 'knees'.

The quilt, I did. I have taught it as a class before. It is foundation quilting. My many cookbooks are on shelves above this area.






This is our downstairs bathroom wall. One wall I painted with chalkboard paint. A dish with chalk sits on the window sill. It's always fun, especially when guests are here to go see what new 'graffiti' is added. It gets quite full.

Pictures

I had posted about it snowing, the Christmas tree lights on and a fire crackling in the cookstove. So I thought I'd post the pictures.

The cookstove is not our main stove. Someone walked in years ago and I wonder what stories get passed around, cuz they looked around and said, "whew, a real stove and a microwave!" We designed and built our home and so planned a space for a cookstove. The room is a "great room" with the kitchen, dining tables, and a keeping room all open together in an 'L' shape.

With the sun setting early in winter the stove helps take the chill off the area. We have so many large windows because of the beautiful views and they have no window coverings and the place cools off when there's no sun. When the stove's going, I will sometimes cook on it. We've roasted marshmallows in the small fire box. I often sit by it in my rocker reading or knitting and my feet propped up on the open oven door (that let's more heat out). It's fun.

Calvin & Hobbes book

Because of an earlier post, someone emailed me about selling the Teaching With Calvin & Hobbes book I mentioned. It's on eBay and has only about 4 hours left on it. I keep watching it, but don't want to spend that much for the book. Scrolling down the eBay page, the book looks to be a teaching whole language tool.

It's current bid is at $510. It was $306 this morning.

Back to cutting out Heather's outfit for her to be wed in. It's snowing, the Christmas tree lights are on and the cookstove fire is crackling away.

quote

As I've said before...I love quotes. I'll have to take a picture of two places in our house that quotes get written.

"There is a fire in the soul that comes from beyond and what the soul does in this life is very much driven by that fire."
- Ronald Rolheiser