Posts that intend to inspire
Kelvin’s daylily garden is about at its peak with around fifty different varieties in bloom. A couple early ones have already completed their season and some late ones are yet to start. The Joneses are inviting friends who would like to drop by to an open garden time on Friday, July 12 and and Sunday July 14 at 1:30 PM for a couple hours. Lemonade and cookie refreshments are planned.
I was privileged to be asked along with my wife to speak at and lead the Easter celebration at Copper Hill church this past Sunday. Pulpit supply there has been week-to-week lately and it was great joy when supervising pastor Rev. Gene Ott called and asked if I would return for the first time since I retired to lead on Easter. So I am including a link to the service above.
By special permission, JoAnne gathered a choir and arranged an Easter hymn titled, “That Easter Day” for us. It was a compilation of familiar hymn melodies with less familiar but beautiful Easter hymn words. JoAnne brought her harp and played “Rejoice, the Lord is King” and also brought the idle church keyboard back to life. Her piano students, Morgan and Malia Gabbidon, treated us to an inspiring piano duet of “Come Thou Almighty King.”
My message for the day titled “Contagious Victory” reminded us that God has blessed us to be able as Christians to appropriate Jesus’ victory to our own lives. Because he was victorious, we can in his strength overcome the challenges that we face as well. My text was,
In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
Romans 8:37 NIV
The cross of Jesus appeared to be the victory of hate and envy. But in the light of Easter, it became evident that on the cross, God’s Love had spoken an unconquerable word of loving forgiveness which would echo around the world and down through the ages. The word “love” itself has been forever redefined by Jesus’ giving of himself. The very concept of servant-leadership was created and exemplified in Jesus. The love of Jesus continues to be contagious and to speak a better word as it is spread around the world through disciples like you and me!
Jesus’ great Easter Victory is the victory of wholeness over brokenness and of righteousness over sin in our daily lives. I observed that victory in Jesus is really a very practical thing. As early as the writings of Moses, the Bible encourages us to follow God’s ways, “that it may go well” with us. That connection is found seven times in Deuteronomy (Deut. 4:40; 5:16; 6:3; 6:18; 12:25; 19:13; 22:7; Jer. 7:23; Eph. 6:3). Walking in Jesus’ ways, listening to the still small voice of the Holy Spirit as we choose our daily lifestyle, leads to a different way of living. We still have troubles, we still make mistakes, but even in them, we make better choices because those choices are influenced by Holy Scripture and its values. The fact is that God’s ways are more wholesome ways that generally lead to life and health. The long-term salutary effects of our Christian walk are then one very important way that we become more than conquerors through him who loved us. And… the victory that Jesus won becomes contagious in our lives.
Jesus’ victory over death is contagious for us as well. When we stand by the casket of our loved ones, it seems like death has won again. But the eyes of faith see differently. The Bible says that Christians do not grieve as others do (1 Thess. 4:13). Why? Because they can see a glimpse of the possibilities introduced by Jesus’ Day of Resurrection!
It is written: “I believed; therefore, I have spoken.” Since we have that same spirit of faith, we also believe and therefore speak, because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to himself.
2 Corinthians 4:13-14 NIV
The joyful conclusion is that because the resurrection power of Easter morning is also at work in us (Ephesians 1:19,20), Jesus can turn the brokenness of our lives into a fountain of grace! His victory is indeed contagious!
Let’s get started with some pictures. I always have fun trying to take close-ups in the Christmas village. It’s not easy as I need to hold the camera very low to get a good angle. But I like the result. The fun part is to let the imagination take over and pretend you are a child again who can easily invent a story behind each scene.
The Pewterer gets a new stove. This scene accents a Dept. 56 Dickens Village piece.
Idea two: Create mini story scenes all over the set. These guys unloading a pot-bellied stove invite all kinds of imaginative speculation. How heavy were those kinds of stoves? Is the boy on the right by the lamp waving at the wagon driver?
Welcoming Grandpa at the railroad station in front of the village square.
Idea one. Notice the multiple levels on the upper right side. I find multiple levels add interest. They also allow for hidden things like wires and railroad tunnels and improve sight lines for viewers too.
Conversation with the lamplighter.
More on idea three: Emphasize themes you love. I grew up in Western NY and served in a church outside Syracuse NY for 22 years, so I celebrate with snow features. I loved sledding as a kid too! Actually my wife is the bigger snow fan.
Singing around the manger scene outside the church! This scene relates in many ways. For me, the dominant one is our worship of Jesus as we celebrate his birth. Carol singing is a central part of that worship for me.
Idea three: Major in things you love! As a retired pastor, my Christmas village has four churches and several carol singers too. I also love Lionel O-gauge and this year I have three big loops and two short diorama tracks to celebrate the hobby.
The skating rink in the daytime.
More on idea four: Use different areas. Here the separate area allows for a focus item, the skating rink.
Upper Village Square.
Idea four. Divide the display into various areas. I have used this to accommodate varying time periods, slight differences in display pieces that don’t work well side by side, and different themes.
Idea five is no secret to anyone who has tried making a Christmas village, but to anyone who is just beginning it is an essential tip. Use layers of cloth. For example, to keep things white, I use white sheets for the under-layer. Then, a snow-white felt-like or gauze-like cloth makes the top layer(s). The layers hide the piece of blue shiny foam that creates the icy pond look in one section. They hid all the power wires for both house lights and accessory wiring, even one whole power strip. On the hill particularly, the layers smooth over and hide canyons in the woodwork creating the smooth hillsides that you see. They also smooth out the edges wherever there is a foam block underneath to raise a house up a little.
And one extra idea. If you have a village you love, don’t take it down too soon. It can give you joy all winter! Ours does for us! Merry Christmas!
Wisdom is a key theme for my blog. I found this verse during one of my recent devotional times. It is a reminder of how important wisdom is to all our projects, both short-term and long term, both physical and interactive. Success in building for the future requires wisdom today.
This year was JoAnne’s and my 50th Christmas. The grand tree pictured above as the centerpiece of our Christmas decor this year (2019) is our 50th Christmas tree. This year’s version (an artificial tree) is complete with train village and beautiful snowflakes made by our grandson. (For you who subtracted 1970 from 2019 and only got 49, please remember that in counting our Christmases, you count both 1970 and 2019 which will result in a count of 50.) I could not help but reflect how things have changed over the years. Memories flooded my mind and I paused again to count my many blessings. My mind went back to what our tree looked like on our first Christmas together.
I was looking at a photo album the other day for something else and there it was–a picture of JoAnne’s and my first Christmas tree together. What a contrast between the small little coffee table version that brightened our mobile home living room and the what is the focus of Christmas trim in our living room this season. That first Christmas tree was the natural kind you get by finding a tree growing out on the home farm and cutting it down. Sometimes we thinned a stand of trees and used just a top for Christmas. Notice that on our first tree, many of the ornaments were homemade. JoAnne made small holes in both ends of egg shells, blew the contents out, and then painted the shells and attached strings. You can see gold, silver, and green eggs on the tree. I made ornaments by folding cardboard into geometric shapes and covering them with foil wrapping paper. Then we added candy canes and tinsel. Notice that the side of the picture says April, 71. That was when we got the film developed. Remember those days?
If you look closely on both trees you will find this ornament. For the record, it is a homemade dodecahedron with the original foil wrapping paper. But what is special is that it has hung on all fifty of our Christmas trees. It has gotten a little shabby looking so some years JoAnne insisted that I hang it in the back, but it has been there to witness all those Christmases. It has appeared in seven or eight different houses. That makes it special.
