I love Christmas. As I get older I am less and less impressed by the cultural definition of Santa Claus. The repetitive songs on the radio about Santa give me a headache. I love the songs, traditions and rituals that emphasize the spirit of the family.

Once when I was teaching public school kindergarten I tried to do a Christmas program for the parents. The “blah blah” committee said the kids couldn’t sing “Silent Night” because it didn’t teach diversity and because of separation of church and state. They suggested I do more classical songs for kindergarten like “Up on the Housetop”. If you read this blog often, you probably know what I thought about that statement.

To me there is nothing more lacking in diversity that when we do only one side of an issue. The mystery of the Holidays can be seen in the song Silent Night and in Santa. But what we really need is the emphasis on multiple ways that mystery comes into the holidays. The interesting thing is that both the story of the birth of the Christ child and the story of Santa coming down the chimney, center on family. And the gift of family is what the holidays are about.

So, my home school friends, while you are blessed with your children these next few weeks, remember that your family is what counts. Celebrate the mystery of family in new ways knowing that God created your family as God created each family-holy.

There’s a scripture verse in the Old Testament that talks about the animals lying down together. (Isaiah 11:1-9) There is also a famous picture named ‘Peaceable Kingdom”. (Edward Hicks) These written and artistic interpretations of living together in peace, often remind me of the challenges of living in peace with family during extended relative stays.

Peaceable kingdom is the goal, when families come a-visiting, but not always the result. So how can we move toward the lion getting his afternoon nap and the lamb gets his/her attention? Don’t ask me! We start today 12 days of my 4 grand kids (AND their parents) visiting. There will be a few others thrown in along the 12 days. Our goal is to peacefully coexist. We’ll see about the reality.

This picture was taken in our back yard right after a big snow. I call it a snow sculpture. The artist is God and it looks like a lion to me. And guess what? While you are attempting the peaceable kingdom remember this-the lion melts down. And when all melts down, we are all the same.

Taking snow pictures of winter is getting to be quite the challenge. The broad view beauty of winter snow is easy to find, but the more subtle changes are harder to see. Most of the work of nature is going on under the snow. Right now we have about 14 inches of snow base in the faith garden.

So I went on a winter “small things” walk. I found the most amazing things. Even with 14 inches of snow, these little flowers were holding a heavy head of snow. They look just like snow flowers. I would have walked right by with my head up, awed by the blue sky and snow, but I changed my outlook.

This is a great time for those who work and attend faith communities to change their outlook. Take a “small things” walk through your building and your life. Look for little things that might indicate your need make change. “Oops” there’s a poster that you put up in the bathroom in 2005 that needs to be removed. “Oh my gosh!” my desk is so buried I can’t find the yearly statistics report I need to do.

Take a “small things” walk through your ministry and see what you find!

I missed blogging yesterday. The reason why can only be associated with being a Grandma. The kids come on Sunday for 12 days. All week between writing, phone calls and emails, I’ve been writing a list of what I need to shop for on Wednesday-THE DESIGNATED GROCERY DAY.
Yesterday I picked up the list to read and it looked like this picture. It was chicken scratches in some non-decipherable code. Spread all over the page, I couldn’t see any organization. I laughed.
You have to understand that I am a list maker of extreme talent. My lists have titles and subtitles. Depending on the grocery store they are in order of the aisles. My family has been making comments (most not complimentary) about my lists for years.
But the Grandkids are coming and it has been in my mind all week. The scratches on my paper show how much I’ve been thinking of them.
So I didn’t blog yesterday. I sat down and itemized that grocery list for grandkids. One needs tomatoes (yes out of season). One needs early baby food. One needs gluten free and one needs “snack, gama”.
I didn’t blog but I did ‘check my list twice’.

During the winter months I feel as if there are times when my energy for ministry is drifting. These snow waves were made during a blizzard when the wind swept the snow everywhere. It seems like there isn’t a pattern, but if you look closely you can see the shadows and times when the wind was strongest.

Ministry, like life, has times when it is strong and time when it drifts. No one can be 100% all the time. We may expect that of ourselves in our perfectionist mode. We may feel that those who we serve expect that we will always be filled with energy. But we need to drift. We need to drift with God.

Staying open to what God puts in our path is important when we are in ministry. Sometimes we have keep quiet, be still and know God. You might get an answer in the wind.

I’ve talked before about planting bulbs inside in the winter. When I returned home from a trip to help my Dad, I found these on my mantel. I moved them to take a picture, but their intense beauty filled me with wonder.

We are like bulbs. Each of us is created in the image of God. Inside us is a beauty that when given the right amount of light, water and sun will emerge. This beauty surprises us (and others) but it does not surprise God.

Each of these blooms is different. I spend lots of time watching them. Each blooms is a combination of several small blooms. You might look and say, “These each are the same.” But the individual beauty is evident if you look closely. How they reach for sun and the green tints are different on every petal.

Think about your inner beauty. What do you need to bloom? How can you return to the world the gifts God gave you? How does your family help you to bloom?

Seldom do I recommend a resource I have not read. I think it is because I’ve had four copies pre-ordered for so long. For anyone that works, lives or rests in the spiritual world, this will be an important book. I believe the release date was yesterday. Here’s what I know.

The formation of faith in this culture will happen differently that in past times. The transition will be easier to understand with the work that Faith Associates has done both in the area of research and in the area of writing. The book is a help in designing the church for the future, but it needs to be read by more than just those who work in the church. It needs to be read by those who recognize that change is happening and don’t know what to do next. We ALL need to think ahead.

Here’s the link. www.lifelongfaith.com Buy the book. Give the book for a gift and we’ll read together.