Hope, Peace, Joy and Love: My Wish for All of Us

 

Hope, Peace, Joy and Love: It's what the Advent season should be about. So often, I get distracted by my to-do lists and the "must-do" requirements I place upon myself in order to have the perfect Christmas celebration for everyone.

But, a couple of weeks ago, our church choir sang a song called "Hope, Peace, Joy and Love," with words and music by Joseph M. Martin. Those words have been swirling around my stuffed-up head this Advent season. And it's my wish for all of us during this special time. Here are the words. Many of the photos are from our church, Stafford United Methodist. Others are from my Christmas decorations at home:

Hope is like a candle burning in the night

Hope paints every shadow with its gentle light.

Glowing like a promise till our faith is sight,

Hope is like a candle in the night.

Peace is like sweet music sounding pure and strong

Singing songs of comfort when the night is long.

Turning drums of hatred into heaven's song,

Peace is like sweet music pure and strong.

Joy is like a flower blooming in the soul,

Sending forth its fragrance to heal and make us whole

And when bitter winds are blowing

When birds refuse to sing.

Joy can turn our winter into spring.

Love is like a diamond wrapped in purest gold.

Nothing is more precious, nothing bought or sold.

Pearl of heaven's glory wondrous to behold,

Love is like a diamond wrapped in gold.

Joy is like a flower.

Peace is like sweet music.

Hope is like a candle in the night.

I'm looking forward to having my kids and granddaughters arrive today. We'll be with my family on Christmas Eve to celebrate my Mom's birthday and Christmas together. (My folks have gone from 5 great-grands last year to 8 this year. The family is growing!)

So ...

If you'd like to listen to the song I illustrated, this church's YouTube version had a large choir and full orchestra. We may not have sounded exactly like that. But we did have Kristen Knight on flute!

Peek Into the Manger

Great Bend First United Methodist Church

The light  makes the scene glow like sapphires, emeralds and rubies. The scene is perfection in that light: Each little piece of glass comes together perfectly to make a beautiful picture.

It would be easy to think that's what the Nativity is all about ... beauty, perfection, peace.  It's Advent. At our church, we pull out the perfectly-white porcelain Nativity scene and light the candles.

Nativity made by Dorothy Newell, Stafford UMC

In another church, the glow of stained glass catches the light of gold threads which run through the elaborate clothing garbing Mary, Joseph and the angel. 

Trinity UMC, Great Bend

In sanctuaries across the world, the winter light streams through stained glass windows, showing an idyllic, pristine scene. Mary glows. Joseph beams. Baby Jesus is bathed in the star's light. 

Holy Cross Catholic Church, Hutchinson, KS

But then I remember. Mary was likely 13 years old (or so). Maybe she wasn't so different from the girls in middle school choir, the ones I witness from the piano bench. Yes, the same ones who are nice as pie one day and then moody and withdrawn the next. (Who am I kidding? You don't have to be 13 to be like that.)

Mary was a young, unwed mother. She had just had her first baby - not in a well-appointed delivery room - but in a stable with animals all around. She laid Him in a manger filled with straw, not a crib with sheets that match a nursery theme. It wasn't all that pretty.

Jesus was born to a family that possessed little and worked hard to make ends meet.

How can we, in the midst of our culture's conspicuous consumption and demand for perfection, turn our focus on the Child who was born into poverty as a sign of hope and salvation for a broken world? While it may seem the world demands perfection, the Gospel message demands nothing from us. Rather, God invites us to gather around the manger just as we are: unfinished lists, burnt pies and all. No matter our imperfections, great or small, God invites us to peek into the manger and gaze at the real Christmas message: That Christ came for us all to be a beacon of hope for the hopeless and to bring peace.

Rev. Amy Slater, Stafford UMC newsletter, Christmas 2012

So, when the list seems overwhelming ... and the oven timer is ringing at the same time the dryer bell is sounding ... and there's too much to do in too little time: Remember it's not about perfection. It's about grace. And, like teenage Mary, listening for God's voice in our lives, then obeying.

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Gifts don't have to cost a lot of money to be meaningful. I enjoy giving gifts from the kitchen to family, friends, the mailman, the choir director ... the list goes on!

Snack mixes don't take much time to make, but they can be something that your gift recipient can use for unexpected guests or their own family gatherings. And, kind of like stained glass windows, the bits and pieces come together to make a delicious whole! Here are a few tried-and-true recipes that we enjoy at our house and I've given as gifts. Click on the links for the recipes and ENJOY!

Banana Cinnamon Snack Mix

Chocolate Coffee Toffee Snack Mix

Pumpkin Pie Crunch Mix

Immeasurable Snack Mix

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This is my December post from Lovely Branches Ministries. Click on this link to read my friend, Suzanne's, ideas for simplifying Christmas.

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I'm linked today to Michelle DeRusha's Hear It On Sunday, Use It On Monday. Check out what other bloggers of faith are saying today by clicking on the link.

For Unto Us A Child Is Born

Stained glass window at the Cathedral of the Plains, Victoria, KS

For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder. And His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9: 5-7

May you have a blessed Christmas with family and friends! I saw this video, The Cross in Christmas, on another blog. It has beautiful photos and the song When Love Was Born performed by Christian artist Mark Schultz, who is a native Kansan and K-State grad. Enjoy! It's definitely worth the listen to put you in the Christmas spirit!

Christ the babe comes in Christmas as Christ the Savior comes on the cross - seeking only our embrace. 

I'm taking a few days off from the blog for the holidays. Enjoy your time with family!