The Impact – Christmas Eve

   Today is Christmas Eve, the last day prior to the actual Christmas day. I’ve been reading an advent prayer every day as a way to focus my thoughts on Jesus and his birth. As the list of things to get done, go do, and go see are crossed off, I find my minding becomes less focused on the things and more focused on the day and event in itself.

   That really hit my heart yesterday, with the words of familiar Christmas carols playing over the radio in my car. Silent night and the angels sang, Gloria, Shepherds watch their flocks, Away in the Manger… I felt like I could just have been knocked over by a feather as the amazing facts of the birth of Christ came hitting fresh. Gratitude flooded my heart as I thought of the preparation Jesus must have made to leave His heavenly home, knowing the humble circumstances he would have on this earth.
   I hope that you have a pleasant Christmas Eve and a wonderful Christmas that is full of the joy and gratitude of Christ’s sacrifice.

Impact of Strength

“Be strong and courageous” “Be strong and very courageous” “Don’t be afraid” “Take courage”

   The phrases are found in many places over the Word of God. What could possibly have caused such fright that people needed this constant bolstering of their courage? There were invasions, famines, enemy rulers, and idol worship to content with. However one of the largest seems to be the courage to do what God has asked or commanded His people to do.
   He asked his own son to give up his heavenly home, a perfect place, to come here as an infant – powerless to the care of human parents. That must have taken quite the goodly amount of courage. The actions seem to take as much courage as the other factors affecting people in the Bible.
  Today is not that different. We are asked as Christ followers to act according to God’s purpose. It takes courage to do this. It is the courage to stand firm, to speak up, to know the difference between kindness and wishy washy’ness. It leaves us on the outside of many things, on the odd side or minority side of many choices. But we put off the things of this world and bear up with courage that God supplies knowing that in the end, it is worth it.
   It was an impact of strength those many years ago. Mary, Joseph – they were given a choice and chose to be of courage. We have the same choice today. Take heart, be strong and very courageous – go and see the impact of God’s strength.
   (Deuteronomy 31:6; Judges 1:7; Matthew 14:27; Acts 23:11)

Impact of Friends

   I’m trying to think about how I can impact the people around me. Today I kept waiting for a way to do that. Though the grand gesture was very appealing, it was a combination of conversation and laughter with friends of dinner. It wasn’t anything in particular, just a listening ear and a caring heart amongst friends that really do listen and care.

   Listening and caring may not seem like an impactful thing, but I believe they can be. We can be so busy and have so many different sounds that our caring and listening gets muddled. It took time for one of our friends to plan this, to help us clear a time and set it aside for this dinner. She made an impact. It took focus to listen to each other, especially in a busy room. It is an impact.

Impact Today

   A child born thousands of years ago had an eternal impact on our history. He lived, grew, died, and lived again – lives still. My impact on history, I have no doubt, is going to be smaller than that. In fact it will be considerably smaller than that. But, I can have an impact none the less.

   So the difficulty I’m having is how? I’m a busy girl. Places to go, people to see, presents to wrap, puppies to chase… There is work, activities, church, family, friends, some time for growth, study, me, time for creativity, time for prayer, time for studies. Where does that make an impact get slotted in?
   There are only a few days left until Christmas and as my to do list seems to grow rather than shrink, I stand between feeling as if I am making progress and just treading water. Make an impact, that vague statement gets moved down my list to a lower and lower number just because it’s difficult to act on something that is vague and unscheduled.
   So, between now and then, I’m challenging myself to make an impact each day and I’ll tell you about my successes (or failures). I’ll toss out the challenge to you as well. Maybe together, we can truly a large impact on our communities.

The Impact

   I’ve been blogging about the concept behind the community that was impacted by their involvement in eternal history. A baby is born and it ripples the history of the world for a family, generations even perhaps. But, after so many many years, the current significance wanes and it becomes historical impact instead. Then, there was a child born that changed the precedent and made such an impact that it forever changed history and our current lives.

   You are most likely familiar with parts of the Christmas story. Maybe it’s the touch of the mother Mary holding her new baby. Or perhaps it’s through the beautiful and ear catching tunes of the season. But, there are many details that we are not privy too. And thinking about the impact of that life, the birth of God’s son, I cannot imagine the community being impacted in anything less than dramatic and impactful. We are not told the story of the how the shepherds retold the story of that night filled with angels for years to come. We do not know what the actual sight of the birth was like, who heard the cry of a woman giving birth, who heard the sound of a brand new baby. Who held him and watched him blow bubbles as all babies do or roll over for the first time? Did Joseph pace or sit near Mary, encouraging her. Perhaps he was squeamish and removed himself from the birthing area. Were there others there to help her? Zechariah was part of Mary’s life and no longer silent after his son John was born. How did he share that story, with whom?
   In my own community, there are many who are preparing to celebrate. My own hands are feeling the tired strain of writing Christmas cards, knowing that my a’s and e’s and starting to blur together in cursive writing. Trees are decorated, presents are purchased (though not yet wrapped), there are parties and programs, choir concerts, friends and dinners. Such a hubbub of the next few weeks. Obviously, that birth still impacts us in a tangible way now. But, what about our hearts, does it impact our hearts? The birth was a miraculous thing. It entailed the sovereign Son of God relinquishing his total control, total power to a mother and father who did not have a manual in how to raise him. There was no magic wand that could be simply waved over his head and wah-lah – it’s all done and good. It took work and care. Today, the relationship with Jesus still takes work and care. And the effort that is plied into this will be reimbursed many times over, in an eternally impactful way.

Puppy Rhythms

   A new puppy in our lives has created a flurry of activity, a dramatic decline in our paper towel and carpet cleaner inventory, and a change in the rhythm of our lives. Puppies, high spirited and energetic, are fun little fur balls. They are charmingly cute in the way they instigate trouble and investigate the world surrounding them. At the same time, you know that much like toddlers, if you hear silence, it generally means that they are into something they shouldn’t be.

   Buddy has been here almost two weeks, and already our lives have shifted. More than just items being placed higher and shushing each other when he is taking his nap, Buddy has been the source of a great deal of laughter, enjoyment at watching his antics, and just the simple pleasure of snuggling with a warm and squirmy puppy.
   Much like a baby, puppies follow patterns. They go out, they come in, eat and drink, play, go out, sleep, over and over… When he is asleep, is time to do tasks quickly and get items that require more concentration done. Then, when he is awake, it is hard not to just leave everything where it’s at to go and play with him.
   Buddy is growing, gaining several pounds already. He will continue to grow, to become a large dog and lose his puppy features. But, he has already made a permanent imprint on our minds, hearts, and lives.