The Old Ornaments

Posted on by kristamarieaustin

Christmas tree decorations experience various stages through the years.

When there were toddlers in our house, the only ornaments on the bottom half of the tree were fabric or, at least, unbreakable. Then there began a steady stream of Christmas gifts carefully made with teachers at school. As each boy proudly hung his new ornament on the tree, I noticed that most of the ornaments now nearly reached the top. Oh, they were growing up so quickly! The craft stick sleds and paper angels transitioned to some pretty intricate ornaments from art class. I loved them all.

Still, I admired the homes where the Christmas decorations were carefully chosen and color-coordinated. Our tree was a grand mix of Kid Art 101 and the 50%-off garland from last year’s sale. But, truly, I never minded. Each little ornament was made with such love and given with a big smile and hug.

Then came the Christmas when the boys-now-young-men didn’t come home. It was time to learn to share holidays, and the guys, with the beautiful young ladies God brought into their hearts.

We started to have Christmas Tree v.1 and Christmas Tree v.2. If everyone would be home, all the old family ornaments would be on display. If no one was coming home, I purchased perfectly matched gold balls to go with the gold-lined tree skirt. I was a little surprised; the holiday charm that I was chasing after seemed somewhat less satisfying than expected.

This year, the kids were home for Thanksgiving. The GrandGirls range in age from 9 – 13, so decorating for Christmas is like their second nature. Much to my husband’s “delight,” all the Christmas boxes found their way up from the basement the Friday after Thanksgiving. As we went through the boxes, I handed the ornaments to the child whose daddy had made it so long ago. There were smiles and gleeful running to the tree to put it…about half-way up. I imagine that there will be a day in the not-too-distant-future when the kids keep those ornaments.

In case you’re wondering, I don’t move the ornaments around after everyone leaves. (I also don’t wash fingerprints off the windows for a few weeks, either.)

The old ornaments remain my favorite. I’m putting the gold balls into a bag for the thrift shop.

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Solar Eclipse 2024: It’s okay to look at the SON

Posted on by kristamarieaustin

Happy Solar Eclipse Day! Solar eclipses are actually not as rare as one would think. Typically, three – five solar eclipses occur annually! What makes today different, however, is that this is a total solar eclipse, and that it falls near ME.

As fun as making a homemade Eclipse Viewing Box can be, I found that digging into what God’s Word has to say about the sun and moon surprised me. New truths were brought to light that I had not previously considered (pun fully intended). I invite you to join me in today’s Scripture Adventure Journey.

Genesis 1:14 – 19    ‘Sun’ and ‘moon’ deliberately not mentioned; they were also the names of the pagan gods associated with the heavenly bodies.

The sun and moon were tasked with 3 functions:

  • To give light on the earth
  • To govern the day and the night
  • To separate light from darkness

Joshua 10:12 – 15   Sun stood still and the moon stopped (Joshua’s prayer answered by a supernatural movement of the sun and moon — were the ocean tides impacted?!? I like to ‘wonder’ as I read Scripture.)

Psalm 74:16 – 17     God established the sun and moon.

Psalm 148                 (verse 3) Praise Him, sun and moon.

Isaiah 40:26 God calls each of the ‘starry host’ by name (He knows my name, too, and my yesterdays, today, and tomorrows!)

Luke 23:45                Darkness covered the whole land because the sun stopped shining (sixth – ninth hours, while Jesus was on the cross). God uses His creation to bring emphasis to events.

Rev. 21:22 – 27        The New Jerusalem (new heaven/new earth) does not need the sun or the moon.

God’s plans and purposes are so different than my own. I am grateful for His sovereignty over all of creation, and my own life. For His glory, alone!

I may put my Eclipse Glasses on eBay tomorrow, along with this old Y2K water…Perhaps I can finance a grandchild’s college education?

It seems so…flat

Posted on by kristamarieaustin

So after doing school at home for six days now, I have learned three things:

The eraser icon is really fun to use on the Zoom whiteboard. Algebra may never be the same again.

The cookie jar is far too close to my kitchen table/desk.

Doing a virtual chapel just feels…flat.

I prep what I plan to say. I flip through the Benjamin’s Box story and make sure the Resurrection Eggs are nearby.  I have the Bible verse marked and ready to read. And then my sweet, understanding husband positions the camera and tiny tripod on the ironing board and does the 3 – 2 – 1 countdown. (We didn’t realize it at the time, but if you look closely at the video, you can actually see the ancient ironing board reflected in the fireplace glass. Sigh. I hadn’t counted on that. I have a lot more to learn!)

Everything seemed to go pretty much as planned. When finished, though, there wasn’t that normal feeling of ‘got it!’ I attributed it to doing this at 10:00 pm after two long virtual meetings. I silently prayed that the Holy Spirit would take the meager words from my lips and transform them into at least a few spiritually meaty morsels for the students and parents that would see the video the next morning.

I marinated on this thought throughout today.  I was sincerely puzzled. Why had the chapel time seemed so flat, for lack of a better word, last night?

You have it already figured out, don’t you?

The kids aren’t with me. I’m not seeing their faces, listening to their giggles, watching their wiggles. I’m not able to gauge the pace of how I read, or use a softer or slower voice if they’re really into the story. I can’t turn to look at them to drive home a particular point. It’s just me and the camera-on-the-ironing-board.

I miss them. My life is not the same. I am grateful for the technology we have so that we can still maintain a decent level of connection, but it’s…flat.

I have a new appreciation for the importance and value of other people with me in real-time. Thankfully, we will be able to fully rejoin the human race soon. And when we do, my world will be joyfully full of lively, noisy children who can teach me how to switch from the eraser icon back to the pencil tool more easily.

 

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But in the meantime…join me in spreading joy to our neighborhoods this week. It’s nearly Easter, so let’s hang those colorful plastic eggs on at least one tree in each yard of each neighborhoods. Think of it!

When I was a little girl, my parents would take us to ‘see the lights’ at Christmas. It brought some of the magic to the season for me. Now, we can bring some Easter cheer to our friends and families, in the midst of our safer-at-home scenario, when we all might have a feeling that life is a little ‘flat.’

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I can’t wait to see families take bike rides together to see egg-laden trees in our neighborhoods. Have some fun with this! Make all the eggs on one tree the same color. Another house do a different color. You could create a pattern (purple, yellow, purple, yellow)…can you tell I’m a math teacher at heart?

The point, though, is to just have fun together. Make our houses and neighborhoods a fun place to be. Who knows, once we can come out of our COVID-19 hibernation, we might strike up a few new friendships. That would make life definitely NOT FLAT.

 

Making cookies or…

Posted on by kristamarieaustin

Thanksgiving is a WONDERFUL time of year. It is also a busy time of year.  Cooking and cleaning if you’re hosting; cooking and packing if you’re traveling.

Now that I’m old enough to have an AARP card, my sense of duty at holidays is less intense.  There is the scalloped corn recipe that MUST be put into Grandma’s ceramic corn dish.  A photo that will become our Christmas card WILL be taken in front of the fireplace.

But, maybe not this year.

Let’s throw caution to the wind and take the family photo down by the creek near the willow tree.  And, heresy of heresy: Let’s use paper plates instead of china.

As I was rolling out the dough to make the annual turkey cookies, a question began to surface in my heart.  What is my main focus to be this Thanksgiving? Why is it so important to create these wonderful traditions? What is Thanksgiving all about, Charlie Brown?

The answer was on the well-floured counter right in front of me.  Making cookies is something I look forward to each year because I ‘need’ 9 little helpers to slather them in chocolate frosting.  My heart was beginning to understand.

Making cookies? Yes, but it’s MAKING MEMORIES that will remain long after the last crumb disappears from the mouse cookie jar.  I commit to embracing each moment that will marvelously transform into a memory once everyone returns home on Sunday.  Now my spirit feels at rest and is filled with peace.  I’m ready for Thanksgiving.

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Heard later that evening: “Honey, could you please take your mom’s corn dish out of the cupboard for me?  Be careful; we don’t want to put another scratch in it!”  There are holiday memories passed on to us by our parents that are worthy of preservation. Those we keep and cherish!  Happy Thanksgiving and God bless us everyone! 🙂

Who could have dreamed?

Posted on by kristamarieaustin

John Stott teaching 17,000 college students each morning from the book of Romans.  Small group Bible studies.  Representatives from dozens of mission agencies waiting to talk with me.

Then there was the midnight communion service on New Year’s Eve with Billy Graham.  It had been an amazing three days.  Hearing his challenge to serve the Lord on the mission field was, to say the least, moving and inspiring.

Still, when the invitation came to stand…I didn’t.  I wasn’t sure I was ready to commit to serving the Lord in a foreign land.  He asked again.  And again.  What did I have to lose?  I stood up.  And meant it.

I began filling out the necessary paperwork to head to Brazil as a missionary teacher.  Funny thing was, the very next day this new guy started at work.  My co-workers said ‘he was perfect’ for me.  I didn’t know what that could possibly mean.

Fast-forward a couple of months.  My heart was torn.  I had promised God to serve Him on the mission field.  But the first day after returning from Urbana, I met my soon-to-be husband.  I was not expecting this turn of events!!!

After lots of tears, prayers and a hard-to-write letter to the mission board, I stayed stateside.  There was often a twinge of guilt when I thought about those days.  I had let God down and seemingly chosen the easier road.

About fifteen years ago, God gently reminded me that I HAD made good on my promise to serve Him full-time in ministry.  It was just in a different way and a different place…OCS.  Only God could shape my path in such surprising ways to serve His people.

Who could have dreamed it?  God did. And I am forever grateful that His dreams for me are so much bigger, better and far more beautiful than my own.

 

The Titanic

Posted on by kristamarieaustin

The majestic Titanic.  Look at the magnificent slipway that had to be specially built just to accommodate her size!

Children need similar support.  They can’t be expected to launch and sail successfully without the support structure provided by parents, school and church.  This necessary framework is carefully designed so that each part of the building process can take place with the best chance of success.  It takes hard work and time.  After all, the Titanic wasn’t built in a day. 🙂

Parents, keep a steady hand on building the support structure for your precious kids.  We can’t be haphazard in our approach.  Consistency, over time, is the secret.  They’ll be ready to launch ever so quickly; those hours today spent playing with them, pouring life into them, will soon yield the sweet fruit of a satisfying relationship with them during their teen and adult years.

(photo from the Library of Congress)

Titanic gantry

“I just want to watch you so I know how to do it.”

Posted on by kristamarieaustin

My husband and I just returned from a family camping trip.  Some of our Grand Children are now old enough to enjoy a sleep-over with Nana and Poppa in the rPod.

The campfire had died down and it was time to get the two boys tucked into the table-that-turns-into-a-bed.  It had been a fun-filled day with swimming and playing at the park.  For some reason, the Camping Fairy did not slip in to do the dishes that were slowly becoming a miniature Pike’s Peak in the sink.  Rog and I prayed with the boys, gave them a sweet hug and kiss on the forehead.  It was time to tackle the dishes.

In a thinly veiled attempt to stay up later, Wesley stated very matter-of-factly, “I need to watch you so I know how to do dishes.”

Now I know that our daughters-in-law ALL are very intentional about making sure their children participate in all household chores.  So, sorry Wes, not quite true.  But I love you for the spiritual truth it showed me.

Our children are watching us All The Time.  This isn’t anything new.  You already see it in action at your house.  The way your child tips her head or his voice goes up at the end of a sentence…they are the greatest of imitators.

It was that second word in Wesley’s statement, though, that struck me.  He used the word ‘need.’  Our children DO need us to show them how to do life.  That is why God has entrusted them to our care.  It is the rare parent (or grandparent) who seizes these opportunities to come alongside and help our kids walk in a way that honors and reflects Christ.  Better caught than taught, they say.  Rog and I realized early that surrounding our children with other adults who shared our Christ-centered worldview was a critical piece to our own parenting.

Wes also showed me that I need to watch my heavenly Father ‘so I know what to do.’  Lord, I need to watch You so I know how to…love others deeply, serve with a pure heart of compassion, and so much more.

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