Christmas

This year I was blessed to spend Christmas in Ottawa with Jason and Yvonne and the girls . Zoey and I drove down on the 23rd. for three days.



Aila had made some decorations.
The reindeer was on the back of the door in my room.



The girls were so excited when the time for opening the gifts finally became a reality as they had been so patient in the days before, and didn't peek, but only counted how many each had under the tree.


A hug for Yvonne.







A wonderful memory preserved in my heart. I am grateful for my children, all of my children , and thankful for the restoration that Jesus has given me.

Just a Moment

It all happened in a moment, a most remarkable moment.

As moments go, that one appeared no different than any other. If you could somehow pick it up off the timeline and examine it, it would look exactly like the ones that have passed while you have read these words.

It came and it went. It was preceded and succeeded by others just like it. It was one of the countless moments that have marked time since eternity became measurable.

But in reality, that particular moment was like none other. For through that segment of time a spectacular thing occurred. God became a man. While the creatures of earth walked unaware, Divinity arrived. Heaven opened herself and placed her most precious one in a human womb.

The omnipotent, in one instant, made himself breakable. He who had been spirit became pierceable. He who was larger than the universe became an embryo. And he who sustains the world with a word chose to be dependent upon the nourishment of a young girl.

God as a fetus. Holiness sleeping in a womb. The creator of life being created.

God was given eyebrows, elbows, two kidneys, and a spleen. He stretched against the walls and floated in the amniotic fluids of his mother.

God had come near.

He came, not as a flash of light or as an unapproachable conqueror, but as one whose first cries were heard by a peasant girl and a sleepy carpenter. The hands that first held him were unmanicured, calloused, and dirty.

For thirty-three years he would feel everything you and I have ever felt. He felt weak. He grew weary. He was afraid of failure. He was susceptible to wooing women. He got colds, burped, and had body odor. His feelings got hurt. His feet got tired. And his head ached.

To think of Jesus in such a light is—well, it seems almost irreverent, doesn’t it? It’s not something we like to do; it’s uncomfortable. It is much easier to keep the humanity out of the incarnation. Clean the manure from around the manger. Wipe the sweat out of his eyes. Pretend he never snored or blew his nose or hit his thumb with a hammer.

He’s easier to stomach that way. There is something about keeping him divine that keeps him distant, packaged, predictable.

But don’t do it. For heaven’s sake, don’t. Let him be as human as he intended to be. Let him into the mire and muck of our world. For only if we let him in can he pull us out.

It all happened in a moment. In one moment … a most remarkable moment. The Word became flesh.

There will be another. The world will see another instantaneous transformation. You see, in becoming man, God made it possible for man to see God. When Jesus went home he left the back door open. As a result, “we will all be changed—in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye.” (1 Corinthians 15:51–52)

The first moment of transformation went unnoticed by the world. But you can bet your sweet September that the second one won’t. The next time you use the phrase “just a moment, … ” remember that’s all the time it will take to change this world.

Grace for the Moment

Grace for the Moment:
Volume 2 by Max Lucado

“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”
John 1:14 NKJV

Don’t we love the word “with”? “Will you go with me?” we ask. “To the store, to the hospital, through my life?” God says he will.

“I am with you always,” Jesus said before he ascended to heaven, “to the very end of the age” (Matt. 28:20 NIV).

Search for restrictions on the promise; you’ll find none.

You won’t find “I’ll be with you if you behave…when you believe. I’ll be with you on Sundays in worship…at mass.” No, none of that. There’s no withholding tax on God’s “with” promise. He is with us.

God is with us.

Prophets weren’t enough. Apostles wouldn’t do. Angels won’t suffice. God sent more than miracles and messages.

He sent Himself; He sent his Son. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”

My Dad

This is a link to a web site that features my father reading a bit of poetry.
He had a great radio 'voice '.

He was a local radio and television personality .
He has been in heaven for over thirty years, and this picture below was the last time I was with him. I was thirty two years old and he died eight weeks later. During this hug, the Lord told me this would be the last time .



He was a good dad, and loved his grandchildren, though he always insisted they call him Grampa Del. Today is my son Tim's birthday, and in the photo below he was maybe four years old. Where has the time gone ? Happy Birthday Tim .

The Word Became Flesh

"The LORD brought Me forth as the First of His works, before His deeds of old;
I was appointed from eternity, from the beginning, before the world began.

When there were no oceans, I was given birth. When there were no springs abounding with water; before the mountains were settled in place,

Before the hills, I was given birth, before He made the earth or its fields
or any of the dust of the world.

I was there when He set the heavens in place, when He marked out the horizon on the face of the deep,

When He established the clouds above and fixed securely the fountains of the deep,
from the beginning, before the world began.

When He gave the sea its boundary so the waters would not overstep His command,
and when He marked out the foundations of the earth.



Then I was the craftsman at his side. I was filled with delight day after day,
rejoicing always in His Presence rejoicing in His whole world and delighting in mankind. (Proverbs 8)
_________________________________________
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.He was with God in the beginning.

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light;On those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.


For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given,
and the government will be on His shoulders. And He will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

The Master Plan

The cross was no accident.

Jesus’ death was not the result of a panicking, cosmological engineer. The cross wasn’t a tragic surprise. Calvary was not a knee-jerk response to a world plummeting towards destruction. It wasn’t a patch-job or a stop-gap measure. The death of the Son of God was anything but an unexpected peril.

No, it was part of a plan. It was a calculated choice. “It was the Lord’s will to crush him.” The cross was drawn into the original blueprint. It was written into the script. The moment the forbidden fruit touched the lips of Eve, the shadow of a cross appeared on the horizon. And between that moment and the moment the man with the mallet placed the spike against the wrist of God, a master plan was fulfilled.

“It was the LORD’s will to crush him.”
Isaiah 53:10 NIV

1 of 365 devotionals in Grace for the Moment, Volume 2
Originally printed in God Came Near /Max Lucado

Remembering

Four years ago today December 4th. that my little Aunt T. passed away and relocated to heaven. Where has the time gone ? Remembering is a very good thing.

God is Eternal

God Is Eternal
Thursday, December 04, 2008 : Max Lucado
“God is…greater than we can understand! No one knows how old he is.”
Job 36:26

Scripture says that the number of God’s years is unsearchable. We may search out the moment the first wave slapped on a shore or the first star burst in the sky, but we’ll never find the first moment when God was God, for there is no moment when God was not God. He has never not been, for he is eternal. God is not bound by time.

But when Jesus came to the earth, all this changed. He heard for the first time a phrase never used in heaven: “Your time is up.” As a child, he had to leave the Temple because his time was up. As a man, he had to leave Nazareth because his time was up. And as a Savior, he had to die because his time was up. For thirty-three years, the stallion of heaven lived on the corral of time.

Tribute to Courage

I have been thinking about courage and the many different faces this particular type of bravery wears in public.
In the environment of working for a Prosthestist I have the privilege of meeting a diverse array of amazing and courageous human beings.



There is an insidious disease out there going by the name of Diabetes. I remember as a youth hearing about it, but never really it gave much thought .

Now , as my generation enters that time of life these things are once again brought to our attention as we get our regular check ups or we notice certain symptoms beginning.

In this business, lately I have been in contact with new amputees. Most are Below the Knee, but it started with a sore on the foot or toe.

There is a doc here who does most of the amputations and they call him 'toe at a time so and so ....' (of course I cannot name him,) but before you know it the leg below the knee is gone, sometimes above the knee. Gangrene can set in and since diabetics don't heal properly it's very dangerous.

Anyway, most of our patients that I have met have diabetes, or peripheral vascular disease, where there is no blood flow to the veins etc. to the feet.

One lovely lady has had both legs amputated below the knees and her attitude is so amazing and upbeat. She has had her car modified, rides her bike, and walks everywhere when needed. When I think of courage , her face comes to mind.

Then the other day, a fellow was in who's amputation was just very recent and he is getting his very first 'leg' as we say.

He was in the hospital and after his surgery tried to get up in the night to use the bathroom, forgetting that he did not have his leg any longer. You see, it feels like it is still there, so he just hopped out of bed, and ended up back in surgery. The stories are incredible,and most folks I have met have a good attitude.

I always ask, how was it trying to process the fact that you are loosing a part of your body ? (since it's not like tonsils right?) Sometimes, they have very little time to even think about it depending on the situation.

Another recent amputee from diabetes, says she can still feel her toes, and has been told to wiggle them even though they are not there , since it will help the muscles in her upper leg.

I cannot even imagine what it must be like.

Another fellow more elderly, and a tad on the 'crusty' side, came in with his family recently, and his daughter reported that the only reason he was alive and survived the surgery was because he is afraid to die. So very sad....No wonder he's crusty !

These people are only one small face of courage and bravery. The ones I come in contact with nearly every day.

Then there are the child amputees....but that's another story.