Spiked Eggnog

Good Morning!

Miss N and I spent Saturday getting things ready for Christmas. All week long Miss N had battled the Christmas tree because the tree stand we had was missing a piece … and so the tree wouldn’t stand. So we bought another one and set up the tree.

Like many, we have switched from the traditional cut tree to an artificial tree that we box up each year and put up in the attic. Then each year we pull the box down and try to remember how the thing goes – what branches fit in what slot; why there are leftover pieces and what to do with them, and so on. We miss the adventure of going out to find a tree with our kids – traipsing to and from fields of trees to cut, discussing the merits of each tree and finally choosing one to bring home. We miss the smell of a live tree freshly cut … but we don’t miss the mess. So an artificial tree works for us today.

I think I discovered why some people spike their eggnog. Drinking eggnog while decorating the tree is another of our traditions … though for some reason we forgot to get it out of the fridge this year. I think I got so caught up in trying to untangle the strand of mini lights that I didn’t even think about eggnog. But if I had, and if we had alcohol on the premises – which we don’t – I am sure it would have been spiked eggnog. Undoing lights will definitely drive a teetotaler to drink I am convinced.

Miss N did the remainder of the decorating … applying the pretty decorations to the tree all the way down to the candy canes we always place on the tree. Our tree this year has fewer of the homemade decorations from years past … but there are still a few of the precious ones from when our house was filled with the excitement children bring to each Christmas. In the end, the tree is beautiful and a reminder of the season.

This morning I have chosen a passage from Paul’s letter to the church in Galatia:

Galatians 4:1-7 (English Standard Version)
Sons and Heirs
1I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave,[a] though he is the owner of everything, 2but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father. 3In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles[b] of the world. 4But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 6And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" 7So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.
Footnotes:
a. Galatians 4:1 Greek bondservant; also verse 7
b. Galatians 4:3 Or elemental spirits; also verse 9

Verse 4: “But when the fullness of time had come…” Our celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ is just a few days away. We set aside this time of year to remember that the fullness of time came when God chose to become flesh and dwell among us. God had a purpose … to redeem His creation. God had a desire … to draw us back to Him. God had a mission … to defeat the scourge of sin and to set us free from it. It was time and He came. And because He came … born of a virgin … because He lived without sin … because He offered Himself as a sacrifice for our sin, we can become the children of God. We have been adopted. God chose you and He chose me! What a thought!!

Look again at verse 6: “… because we are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts …”. You have the Spirit of God living within you, calling out to our Father, desiring to be held gently in His arms. What a blessing for a cold December day.

Agape’


Mr. Jim

New Prayer Need:

My golf buddy and fellow cancer survivor Ulysses made it a point to get out of his car Friday afternoon and walk more than a hundred yards to ask us to pray for a Ms. Long. Since my memory is short and I didn’t have a piece of paper to write the request down, I cannot give you particulars, though I believe it was cancer related … and a very specific need. So pray for Ms. Long – the Good Lord knows the need and doesn’t need either pencil or paper.