Christmas Devotion at the Cafe

I'd love for you to come by the Internet Cafe and chat with me about Christmas...

Ornamental Occasion at the Internet Cafe

My next Cambodia post is coming later today or tomorrow, so please come back to visit!

God's Box of Chocolates

Previously published in February 2007 

Everywhere I look near Valentine’s Day, there’s chocolate: boxes of chocolate in all the stores, chocolate on TV promising to be the only love you need, chocolate girl scout cookies—CHOCOLATE! I even saw chocolate Altoid breath mints in the grocery checkout aisle the other day! I think that’s what led me to remember the famous quote from Forrest Gump: “Life is like a box of chocolates—you never know what you’re gonna get.” (I even remembered it with his accent.)

In reality, that phrase can be true. We wake up every morning completely unsure of what the day may hold for us. We’ve made our plans. Sometimes they even happen the way we make them. But we never know for sure, do we? The days that come with caramel in the middle are my favorite…the ones with the strawberry goo are just so so…but the ones with coconut—YUCK! I’d rather go back to bed. Then there’s the days where tragedy or difficult times come out of nowhere, and the chocolate sits in the pantry untouched—there’s no sweetness to be had in those moments, it seems.

God knows that life as it pertains to circumstances is uncertain for us. That’s why He comforts us and reminds us so many times that He is our constant companion, our steadfast friend, our consistently loving God and Savior. He doesn’t keep promises the way we do…

“When people make promises, 

they guarantee them by appeal to some authority above them

so that if there is any question that they'll make good on the promise, 

the authority will back them up. 

When God wanted to guarantee His promises, 

He gave His word, a rock-solid guarantee—

God can't break His word. 

And because His Word cannot change, 

the promise is likewise unchangeable.” 

(Heb. 6:16-18, the Message) 

You see, no matter what chocolate we are “in the middle of” right now, He is there…with the certainty of His promise today as well as His hope of Heaven in the future. Listen to how the verse above continues to encourage us: (vs.19-20)

“We who have run for our very lives to God have every reason 

to grab the promised hope with both hands and never let go. 

It's an unbreakable spiritual lifeline, 

reaching past all appearances right to the very presence of God 

where Jesus, running on ahead of us, 

has taken up His permanent post as high priest for us...”

I love the visual picture of grabbing on to Him with both hands as He runs ahead of me to the Father. That makes me able to get up today and praise Him for whatever comes my way. This faith, this confidence, this hope is our unbreakable spiritual lifeline--HIS love for us no matter what, when, how or why. Let’s binge on His priceless box of chocolates today…the sweetest and most satisfying of them all.

“Taste and see that the Lord is good;
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.”
Psalm 34:8, NIV

Ok, coconut lovers, I'm prepared for the comments...lol...you too caramel haters. :D Just make sure the message doesn't melt in the process... ;)

In the Key of HE,

Be His

I’ll never forget receiving the candy hearts on Valentine’s Day when I was in middle school. You know, the ones that taste a little bit like Pepto-Bismol? My friends and I would tear our little bitty envelopes open to see which hearts someone put inside with the generic card. Reading into every phrase, we fantasized of that special someone spending tireless efforts to make sure he delivered the perfect message and emotion to each of us. It was dreamy.

It didn’t take me too many years to realize that the boys’ mamas probably just threw them in an envelope for them, OR worst case scenario, picked out the girl SHE wanted for him to like via pepto-heart-a-grams. So much for dreamy.

The reality of the analogy the Lord laid on my heart today was not so dreamy either. I realized that He has written His message on my heart. It is forever inscribed and perfectly perfect, which is a beautiful truth. But when others look at my heart, so often I have covered up His words with my own unintentional messages.

Sometimes my heart begs, “Be mine,” when it really should cry out, “Be His.” Often it shouts out, “Love me,” when God begs me to “Love them” or “Love Him” instead. The mixed messages my heart delivers to others can leave them with mixed feelings about the heart of God.

This is deep stuff, I know, but bear with me. Luke 6:45b says, “…for out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.” It’s saying that the ‘stuff’ we stuff into our minds gets stored in the treasury of our hearts, and eventually it begins to flow out of the heart via tunnel of the mouth. Then it is spread to others, and “round and round it goes, where it stops…?”

When I complain frequently, I have probably listened to a bunch of complaints. As I throw out a zinger in the name of humor, I realize I have maybe seen a few too many sit-coms. During those moments of pouring out flattery to others, could it be that I have enjoyed the empty, false praise that I have indeed received myself? What ‘line’ do others see displayed on the tablet of your life?

All the static this world has to offer us can cloud the message he has carved on our hearts:

Hebrews 8:10b

“I will put my laws in their minds, 

and I will write them on their hearts.

I will be their God, and they will be my people.”

Do you see His Valentine’s message for us? 

♥BE MINE♥ 

Make HIM our True Love. Let’s not mix His message with overflow from the world’s waste. Instead, let’s spread His Word, the Word that He has written front and center in bold letters on our hearts—the Word that we have fallen in love with so that we could keep from sin and love others God’s way.

Sometimes we just need to be reminded, friends. I know I do. The way we spend our time matters. The people we allow to rub off on us are important. The shows we watch and the websites we visit and the novels we read—it has an affect on us. Pray about it, allow the Lord to lead and guide you into the perfect balance of freedom and works. It is then, and only then that our hearts—the new ones He gave us when we became a Christian—will show the world that we are His.

Psalm 86:11

“Teach me YOUR way, O LORD, and I will walk in Your Truth; 

give me an undivided heart, that I may fear Your name.”

If you'd like to see a great idea on spreading the love of Jesus at Valentine's Day, visit Lori's blog at I'll Take It Lord, All You Have To Give.

Also, Sunny at A Damsel No Longer In Distress has added her own ideas to Lori's post. GREAT stuff flowing out of these two sisters' lives.

In the Key of HE,

Regrets & Resolutions

I am so blessed to host "At The Well" this week. The topic is REGRETS and RESOLUTIONS. Won't you join us today with your thoughts, traditions and opinions on the subject?

Here are the discussion questions:

The New Year is a time for us to let go of the past and look forward to newness. Everyone thinks about that differently. Answer any one of these questions, all the below, or just give your thoughts about the New Year.

1. What is your favorite "resolution" in the Bible?

2. Do you do a New Year's resolution? Why or why not? Does your family make a resolution together?

3. Usually a resolution comes as a result of regretting something you didn't do the year before. How do you let go of the regret and move forward?

4. (optional...only if you wish to share) Have you ever made a resolution inthe past that you didn't keep and wish you had?

I'm going to share my thoughts by posting a devo/challenge I sent to my website ministry recipients yesterday. It expresses my heart on the subject. The only other thing I would like to add is that my biggest regrets over the past year are when I have grieved the Holy Spirit with my thoughts, words and actions (or the lack thereof). I'm so thankful for His gift of grace and forgiveness, but I hope as I keep in step with Him, I will grieve Him less this year...

CLAUS-trophibic, updated 2009

“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”

Psalm 51:10

The day after Christmas, I was cleaning up stuff. Clutter. Junk. I’m not referring to the gifts we received. Rather, the mound of things in the closets and the cabinets with which I would replace those gifts. I was feeling “Closet-trophobic,” if you will.

I found myself seething over the mess I’d allowed to accumulate around my house. Getting more emotional by the moment, I was doing the opposite of whistling while I worked. The Grinch was in the Shaw home, and she was cleaning house.

Here it is a New Year, and I have a similar spout of impatience over the state of my heart. It is cluttered and crowded—claustrophobic. It hasn’t been maintained well. The junk has piled up and is in desperate need of attention.

While so many are making resolutions, I cannot even go there. It would only be a list of more things to “try to do well.” You know? More routines started that will not be finished, more promises made that will not be kept--All of it adding to the mound of my spiritual chaos.

God is so good to keep His resolution to me in my desperate moments. The reason I share my weaknesses is because I know all of us have them. His promise to us no matter what state we are in is that HE is the One who is always faithful, and HE will do the work in us if we let Him. (1st Thessalonians 5:24)

Each year for the past four years, instead of coming up with a New Year’s resolution, I have found a better solution for me is to adopt a Scripture verse for the coming year--something that God lays on my heart that will help me to grow in some way or another.

In 2005, it was Psalm 119:29 of the NLT: “Keep me from lying to myself; give me the privilege of knowing your instructions.” It was a year of heavy introspection and sanctification. Little did I know how much I would need it for the future…

In 2006, the 1st Thessalonians verse from above impacted me in ways I cannot even put into words: “The One who calls you is faithful, and He will do it.” Wow, did I need that one during the year that Brian’s dad got sick, his Granddad came to live with us and my mother passed away.

The difficult times in 2006 led me to this verse to adopt for 2007, where the trials would continue: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” John 10:10, NIV. Somehow in the midst of the long season of suffering and loss our family was going through, God continually reminded me of His promise to make our lives full and complete. We lost Brian’s granddad in our home in April, and Brian’s dad passed away just before Christmas. It was one of the heaviest years our family has ever experienced, and honestly, we’re still recuperating (and learning) from it.

This past year, labeled 2008—I cannot describe in words, and if I could, I would. It was a time of re-learning what the word “normal” means and discovering that there really is no such thing. Each month of the year provided a “new normal” for us. The verse God gave in January was different, in that He gave me three verses to cling to: Psalm 40:1-3 (NIV): “I waited patiently for the LORD; He turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD.”

So at this present moment, this time to reflect and let down from my spiritual CLAUS-trophobia, what would God have me consider? If I am in keeping with the last four years’ verses, being honest with myself, submitting to the Lord’s faithful promise to do the work in the fullness and newness of Life He provides, what now?

In the Lord’s perfect wisdom, He has led me to a verse for 2009 that is a passionate cry of my heart:

“Teach me Your way, O LORD, and I will walk in Your Truth;
give me an undivided heart, that I may fear Your name.”
Psalm 86:11 (NIV)

I believe this is a year of simplifying, weeding out distractions, and allowing Him to teach me new things about Himself. Honestly, I believe He gave me this verse out of necessity for my emotional, physical and spiritual health. It may take the whole year or even longer, but the decisions and commitments I make will be a direct result of keeping in tune with this prayer.

How about you? Would you be up for the challenge of adopting a verse for this year? Psalm 119:11 says, “I have hidden Your Word in my heart, that I might not sin against You.”

The key to every kept resolution and promise is the power of His Word unlocked and flowing in your life and mine.

He is so much more interested in our submission to Him than He is to our keeping the rules we make up for ourselves. (see 1 Samuel 15:22) A side note: Our family is in the process of choosing a FAMILY VERSE for the year as well. Each member of the family (10 years old and up) has been searching for a verse that they think would be good for our family to adopt this year. We’re going to put each of them in a hat (after I look over them to make sure they’re legit), and choose randomly which one to adopt for the year. I’m looking forward to this new tradition in our family.

If the closets of your heart are as cluttered and crowded as mine, take a moment to allow the Lord to do some re-organizing. Pray. Ask. Listen. Then submit. He is ready and willing to create in us a “pure heart,” and renew in us a “steadfast spirit,” creating a year that is clutter-free and full of Himself, allowing us to live and move and breathe freely in Him. I’m counting on it.

So what are your thoughts? Share' em. And please know, I don't think there is anything wrong with resolutions at all...I am just speaking from the perspective of LauraLee, wired extremely unique--lee... :)

Dear Lord, thank You for all of Your promises kept, Your resolutions unbroken, Your regrets non-existent. I pray that You would have us beg for more of You this year as we seek to follow You and keep Your Word. More than asking for physical blessings, I pray for Your spiritual blessing on each one of us. It is in Your name that we live and move and pray, Amen.

In the Key of HE,

Fragrant Gifts

“Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived at Bethany…
Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor…
Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume;
she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped His feet with her hair.
And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.”
John 12:1-3

Talk about your extravagant gift. How I would love to be in Mary’s skin during this act of worship to Jesus, to be able to express my love for Him in person so elaborately. I can only daydream!

I wonder, though. Would I really have traded places with her? She poured a perfume worth a year’s wages on His head. Then she proceeded to coat His feet with it in front of all those people...with her hair! Would I have shown Jesus I adore Him with that much abandon?

The most precious thing I have to offer Him is myself. The gifts that came first from His hand--my spiritual gifts--are as valuable as that fine perfume if they are offered from a pure and humble heart. After all, using them is my “spiritual act of worship.”

Yet I miss the point of this more often than not. I’ve been guilty of leaving my “bottle of perfume” on the shelf, afraid of what others will think of its scent. Fear, Insecurity and Laziness are familiar culprits of my flesh that work to give my gifts a long shelf life.

Of course, I am also guilty sometimes of spraying it on only when I can assure it will smell good to others. In the name of peace, I don’t want to offend anyone. Or worse, I might be ridiculed.

The worst mistake of all is when I use my spiritual gifts to my own benefit. I saturate myself in them so that others cannot help but be attracted to the “Good Smell Contest Winner"—ME! “Hi, Mom!”

Each day, I have opportunities to use the gifts God has given me, and each day, I make a choice. When I turn to the Word, it stirs my soul to live the Mary way.

I have no excuse to be lazy when I read, “Do not neglect your gift,” and “fan into flame the gift of God.” Clearly, I am to exercise my spiritual gift muscles in order to strengthen the Body of Christ as a whole.

And how can I use my gifts only when it feels good, knowing that God did not give me “a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline”? Did Mary run away when Judas rebuked her?

Furthermore, when I scream out “Look at me! See how great I am with my precious gift,” have I forgotten Who gave it to me in the first place? Even if I replace the exclamation point with a period or a question mark, I am totally missing the mark that Mary left behind as an example. She showed that gifts are given so that Jesus will smell good to others.

Am I alone in my struggle, or can you relate? The admonishments in Scripture are for each of us as believers. “The end of all things is near,” we are reminded. Shouldn’t that lead us to use our spiritual giftedness for the glory of Jesus Christ?

If the Holy Spirit has gifted us with hospitality, we should do so without prejudice and "without grumbling." Our wide open doors will hopefully lead to wide open hearts for Christ.

If we are led to encourage, instead of crossing the line to flattery, we should do it as “one speaking the very words of God.” Our deliberate words will hopefully lead toward decisions for Christ.

If and when any of us serve with WHATEVER gift He has given us, we “should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ.”

Let’s break open our valuable jars today and fill the room with His aroma--in humility, in authenticity—with no duplicity of heart or mind, fully knowing that it is “Christ in us” who can accomplish great and mighty things according to His will.

“But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him.”
2 Corinthians 2:14

To HIM be the glory and the power forever. Amen.

NIV Scripture references: Romans 12, 1st Timothy 4, 2nd Timothy 1, 1st Peter 4


In the Key of HE,

Internet Cafe's Blog Carnival/A Passionate Package

The Internet Cafe is holding a Holiday Expo Blog Carnival. Head on over there to link to TONS of blogs giving gifts in the spirit of the season!

I'm so excited about my contribution. I'm calling it my 

"Internet Cafe Passionate Giveaway Package."

The first in the package is "Passionate About Planning." It's a "2009 Mom's Plan It Calendar" with a bunch of helpful tips and quotes for each day of the year. Keep it for yourself or give it to a Mom you know that has a passion for planning!

Secondly, it's an extraordinary book called Women of Passions: Ordinary Women Serving An Extraordinary God by Janet Ross and Jeanice McDade. It is a collection of remarkable true stories and inspirational writings by twenty-six unique authors from various backgrounds and walks of life. It is a truly phenomenal read, especially if you're passionate about reading testimonies and stories that will lead you to the Throne of God.

And maybe most important package item of all, it's "Passionate About Chocolate." If an honest-to-goodness passionate woman is going to plan passionately and read a book about passion for God, she MUST HAVE CHOCOLATE by her side...so howza 'bout a pack of M&Ms and maybe a few other little chocolate goodies...who knows? Depends on how much you convince me you like chocolate! ;D

Sooooo, if you are a Passionate kind of gal, then all you have to do to be a contender for the package is the following:

Leave a comment on this post (cannot be anonymous, as I need an email address for the winner) and tell me ONE thing (at least) that you are passionate about. I will choose a winner (randomly) by Friday, December 12th, and the winners (of ALL the blog giveaways) will be posted publicly at the Internet Cafe! Cool, eh?

And if you live out of the USA, no biggie...I'll ship it anywhere, okay?

Passionate about seeing a picture of what you have the potential of receiving? Okay, then...



I really hope you're as excited as I am about this package, and I also hope you'll go on over to the Internet Cafe Holiday Expo to click on other blogs who are participating in the Christmas carnival!

In the Key of HE (not me),

Having a Mary Christmas

Our host for "At the Well" this week is Tracy from Thirsty for Him. She has chosen the topic of: Having a "Mary" Christmas: Keeping "Christ" in Christmas with Practical Ideas.

She asks us the following questions:
Do you find yourself stressed each Christmas, trying to "DO" all of the activities of the holiday, only finding yourself depleted and wondering if your family celebrated the true meaning of Christmas? What are practical tips and ideas you can share that celebrate Christ and simplifies Christmas?

It has taken me many years, but I can honestly say that I have been set free from being overly stressed at Christmas. Well, as far as the busyness of Christmas is concerned anyway. Certain things in life go on no matter what the season, and my stress load with life in general is a whole 'nother subject. ;)

Two insights I have to participate in this subject, because I'm terrible at traditions. Wish I weren't, but I really am. (sigh)

The first is to take time to worship God alone.

Mark 1:35 (New International Version)
"Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed."

This may mean turning off the music or walking away from the computer or other distractions...and getting alone with God--focusing on His character, His Word. It's so difficult for moms with little children and little to no support from their spouses, but it can be done. (Just not for long unfortunately).

Honestly, I don't know how anyone keeps the Christ in Christmas without taking the time to focus on the Christ OF Christmas.

I simply cannot. After you've done this, then you can take the time to meditate on the Word and pray with the rest of your family. This, I promise, will make a significant difference in your attitude this December...it's more than listening to Christmas sermons and reading other's devotions...it's TRULY spending time in magnificent wonder and awe of your Savior King. Listening. Telling. Turning. Living.

Second, be intentional about living worship.

Ephesians 5:15-17 (New International Version)
"Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is."

It sounds so simple and so basic, but the small things speak Christ into others in the midst of a hectic, complicated, frustrating time for many. We try to tip extra when we can, put coins in the Salvation Army bucket. The kids and I not only put our grocery cart away, but we look for stray ones to put away too. We are friendly in lines at the checkout counter and try not to honk at the person who switches three lanes. Imagine a honk-free Christmas...now wouldn't that be something? (Bear in mind I live in the city).

I always pray that our family would not be out to impress the Santa who knows when you've been bad or good, but that we would be about giving our all to the Savior who knows our thoughts and motives. When I choose to turn a conversation from gossip to praise at a Christmas party, it makes a difference. When I seek out someone who looks left out and sit with them at the Christmas program, it makes a difference.

I could go on and on, but TRULY, the way we live out our faith during this time, demonstrating the fruit of the Spirit in us, the more peace that comes at Christmas, the internal kind anyway. Together, let's reflect on Him and live as though He is our "Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." (Isaiah 9:6b)

Mary Christmas! Sooooooo many other thoughts, practical insights and sweet conversation await at Tracy's place. I hope you'll head on over.


In the Key of HE,

All The Right Stuff

Today's Fiction FRiday meme is being hosted by Hoomi at Pod Tales and Ponderings. Please head on over there for a bunch of great fiction today!

All The Right Stuff
While unpacking the groceries on the counter, I checked the ingredients against the recipe from my new cookbook. Yup, I had all the right stuff. Daydreaming, I couldn’t help but picture the look of pure elation on Keith’s face when he would taste his favorite Christmas Eve dessert—only this time baked by me instead of his grandmother. I’d invited her to come over as well, so I would surprise ‘em both.

I can’t believe Vivian put this recipe in her cookbook. After keeping it a secret for years, she’d finally decided to pass it on to her grandchildren before she got too old or too sick to do so. What a blessing, I thought.

I preheated the oven to 350, just as the recipe said. I already had the mixing bowls and loaf pans ready to go. Even though I’d never baked anything that wasn’t from a box before, I felt prepared, thanks to Vivan’s specific and thorough instructions.

“Okay. ‘Cream the butter and sugar.’ I think I know what that means…” I put the two sticks of butter and the two cups of sugar together, mixing them until they looked creamy.

“That’ll do. Now, ‘Add eggs—one at a time.’” I continued to follow the recipe, line by line. After sifting the flour, I folded in the remaining ingredients. I spread a layer of the nut mixture on the bottom of the pan, added the dough, then the nut mixture again. It was ready to go.

My husband walked in just as I was putting the two loaf pans in the oven. “Whatcha doin’, Punkin?”

“Making you a Christmas present you’ll never forget,” I flirted, winking to add to the mystery.

Keith looked around the kitchen for clues, and I slammed the cookbook shut just in the nick of time.

“Oooooo, something from Grandmother’s cookbook, eh?” he teased back.

“Yes, Dear, now scoot before you spoil your surprise.” I chased him out of the kitchen with a wooden spoon in hand. “Shoo!”


An hour later, Keith entered the kitchen to find me sitting in the middle of the floor in tears. As he ran to comfort me, I saw him do a horrified double take at the mystery creation on the counter. “Oh sweetie, it’s okay.”

“I—was—trying—to—make—your—grandmother’s—sour—cream—coffee—cake—for—you—for—Christmas. But it’s a big meeeeeeeessss!” A basketcase, I sobbed a puddle onto Keith’s shoulders.

“Oh, Punkin, that is so sweet. That is the most loving thing you've ever done. Please don’t cry.”

When the doorbell rang, Keith helped me off of the floor as I quickly regained my composure.

“Merry Christmas!” Vivian said. “I brought my sweeties a surprise.”

My tears began again as I glared at the perfectly baked loaf of sour cream coffee cake in Vivian’s grasp. She handed it to Keith and immediately came to comfort me.

“What’s wrong, Darling? It smells wonderful in here, and your tree is so beautiful. And most of all, you look beautiful.”

I led her to the kitchen and pointed to the loaves of burned pecans on top of baked brown goo. “I wanted to surprise you both and make your recipe from the Christmas cookbook you gave me, and I messed it all up. I’m the worst cook ever!”

Vivan looked down at the open book and over at Keith, then sighed. “Sweet Leah—no, Sweetheart—your cooking is just fine, Dear.”

“No, it’s not, look at it!”

Grabbing Keith’s arm in one hand and the cookbook in the other, Vivian scolded, “Keith, Dear. Do you remember my asking you to relay a particular message to your wife about this recipe?”

“Huh?” Keith mumbled, looking dumbfounded. “A message?”

“You don’t remember the error you made when you typed this recipe for me?”

Keith’s face flushed through the shades of the candy cane—red, white, then red again. He put his hand over his face. “Oh no.”

I crossed my arms. “’Oh no’ what, Keith?”

“He forgot to tell you that he accidentally omitted the baking powder from the recipe, so where it says to mix the remaining ingredients, you didn’t know you were supposed to add it,” Vivian said, laying the open cookbook in front of her grandson.

We looked over at the perfect loaf of sour cream coffee cake in Keith’s hands. He tiptoed to me as if on eggshells, then extended the gift to me. “Um,” he gulped, “Merry Christmas…?”

The smell of Vivian’s coffee cake and echoes of laughter surrounded the room, filling this Christmas Eve with all the right stuff.

“Our mouths were filled with laughter,
our tongues with songs of joy…”
Psalm 126:2a

In the Key of HE,

They Will Have No Doubt...

It's Word-Filled Wednesday!

I couldn't think of a better time than around the holidays to consider how our love toward one another affects others. At the table, over the game, in the stores, on the road, during the parties, they will know we are Christians by our love...

Dear Lord, You are perfect love, and You are my example for living love. During these next weeks, I know You will give me one opportunity after another to be love to someone who needs it. I pray for surrender to Your fruit of the Holy Spirit to do this through me. I know I will struggle sometimes. It's so much easier for me to love the lovely, the pleasant and the familiar over the unlovable, the unlovely and the unfamiliar. With Your help, I know I can. Thank You, Lord, for giving me everything I need for life, for love and for Godliness. In Your name I pray, Amen.

>For more beauty mixed with Truth or to join in on this WFW meme, go here:






In the Key of HE,

Taboo Blessings

It's Fiction Fridays, and Patty from Patterings is hosting. To learn more about her meme, click here:

Do you like short story fiction? Then go on over to Patterings and check out the links to more fiction posts.

Taboo Blessings

We were stuffed as a tick on a coon dog’s belly. The lethargy had kicked in—probably from the chemicals released in the turkey. It couldn’t be that we gorged enough carbs and sweets to send our bodies into a diabolic crash, no!

As for me personally, all I really wanted to do was slide into a pair of stretchy pants and lie in a reclined position until I fell into a dreamy sleep, but family traditions would rule otherwise.

It was time for the “Blessing Circle” to form near the fireplace in the living room. The football games: paused. The cleaning of the kitchen: halted. All the kids were to come in from playing wiffle ball on the front lawn.

It’s funny, because no one in our family even remembered when this custom was brought about or why, but my aunt Millie said she was going to make sure it didn’t die out on her watch. Every Thanksgiving since she could remember, the Blessing Circle had formed, and this year would be no different. So we gathered, resistant and a tad resentful, into our round, robotic ritual of raving over our good fortunes from the previous year.

Aunt Millie introduced our tradition as if we had never heard it explained before. She said it was a time to “count our blessings one by one,” and if we “don’t take the time to do so, then, we just don’t deserve them.”

While Uncle Paul began to belt out the Count Your Blessings hymn in the background, Aunt Millie rattled off her thank-yous with very little expression until she ran out of breath.

Mama eagerly chimed in. She was grateful for her good health and for her beautiful grandchildren.

“…Count them one….by……one….” Uncle Paul nodded off, though still barely rocking in his wooden chair. His head was cricked over, and the metal snap on his overalls made an imprint on his face.

Then there was a long pause, and Mama elbowed Daddy in the rib cage, which spoke him right up. “I’m very blessed to have a woman who keeps me in line,” Daddy poked at his other half. We all chuckled.

All of us awake now, we began to spew out our blessings, mixed with a little satire. Laughter filled the room, and even Aunt Millie’s upside-down smile wrinkles were turned a little sideways.

Second to last, we got to Tammy, my niece’s roommate and friend. She asked to pass in a quiet, croaky voice. She was not smiling or laughing like the rest of us.

What’s her deal? I wondered. Surely she had some blessing to boast about. Why, her very roommate was a jewel of a gal, that’s for sure. My niece Vickie was as Christian as they come.

Vickie recovered for her friend by sharing her thankfulness for a roommate who didn’t snore like her last one. Everyone got a chuckle out of that—except for Tammy.


Dusk snuck up, and all the family began to file out one by one, each with styrofoam plates filled with leftovers piled high. Someone decided that Tammy had been silent long enough. Out on the dusty gravel driveway, Aunt Millie took hold of Tammy’s arm as she passed by. “It must be a pretty miserable existence not to have any praises on your tongue.”

Tammy looked up. “Excuse me?” A mix of confidence and bitterness shot from her eyes.

“Everybody’s got somethin’ to be thankful for, darlin’,” Aunt Millie retorted.

Putting her hand gently upon Aunt Millie’s shoulder, Tammy looked her straight in the eye with the most fortitude I had ever seen anyone dare. “Millie, is it?” Tammy asked.

“Aunt Millie,” she corrected.

“That’s right.” Tammy slumped down and paused. Then all of a sudden she blurted out, “Taboo!”

Mama and Daddy grabbed Aunt Millie’s arm to hold her stance steady.

“My blessings are taboo. They’re not the kind of thing you talk about around such light-hearted folks,” Tammy explained.

Uncle Paul had slid into the driver’s side of the car and began to pretend drive.

Aunt Millie was stunned, “Why, I do declare!”

Tammy snickered, “See, I knew I was wise to keep quiet.”

“Go ahead, Tammy,” Vickie prompted.

She took a deep breath. “OK, here goes. One year ago today I lay in a hospital room with bruises and cuts all over my body. I was lucky to survive, they said. This year has been one of major tragedy bringing out memories of younger tragedies, all of which I’ve had to come to grips with. And up until your niece took the time to care, I didn’t have a single person to turn to or even a place to sleep.

All of us stood speechless.

Except Aunt Millie.

“Oh, child,” she had streams of tears streaking down her pruned face. “If I’d only known.”

Tammy sobbed alongside. “People don’t wanna hear about these kinds of blessings.”

I'm sure were all wondering what “blessings” she was referring to.

She continued with emotion. “That night, when I lay in that cold, empty hospital room with nothing but my pain to keep me company, God gave me a gift.”

Uncle Paul was trying to get the radio to work.

Vickie wrapped her arms around Tammy who had lost her voice and finished the story for her. “She’s talking about the moment she received Christ as her Savior. I was her nurse on call that night. When I came into her room during my rounds, she told me she wanted to die. I didn’t know what to do other than to ask her if she knew who Jesus was…”

“When she told me…” Tammy regained her composure, “When she told me about this Jesus that SHE knew, He was so much different than the one I had heard about growing up.”

Tammy went on to describe the “hell, fire and brimstone” she was taught from her abusive father and the pulpit of her small hometown church. Never had she ever heard of the grace and the love that Vickie was sharing.

“I was totally amazed when she told me that Jesus wanted to be my friend,” Tammy concluded. “My FRIEND.”

It was as if the radio turned on inside the speakers of my Uncle Paul’s mind just then. “What a friend we have in Jesus. All our sins and griefs to bear,” he belted out.

Tammy began to laugh through her flooded eyes. “Now that’s the blessing I wish to speak of. The day that Jesus became my friend.”

We all gathered around her as if she were a part of our family now. Well, I reckon she was, and we were so blessed to have her. She reminded us where true blessing is found.

In unison, all of us joined the choir in Uncle Paul’s head: “Oh what peace we often forfeit. Oh what needless pain we bear. All because we do not carry….everything to God in prayer.”

We were so blessed.


*******
Count Your Blessings—text by Johnson Oatman, Jr.
What A Friend We Have in Jesus—text by Joseph M. Scriven



In the Key of HE,