The Wart Family Christmas 2018, Episode 3

"Mama, why do we have new decorations this year? I liked my little white poinsettia that I wore between my ears!" Little Angelina looked questioningly at Mama Wart, and fiddled with the new beaded wreath that now sat on her little head.

"Oh, honey, that old poinsettia was falling apart, as was mine. We were definitely due for something new, and I think Grandma Sue came up with some lovely new looks for us! Just look at the boys! Hiram and Harold have not just one little ball on their tails, but a whole bouquet of red balls that shimmer in the daytime AND the nighttime. They are having so much fun showing them off. Even Papa Wart got a new little spring of greenery added to his favorite cap, and I couldn't be happier with my beautiful new wreath that looks just like a halo on my head!"

"But Mama, why do things always have to change? Why can't things just stay the same all the time? I think change is scary, don't you Mama? It makes me feel like I never know what will happen next." Angelina scooted just a little closer to her mama.

"Why, of course change is scary, sweetheart! But can you ever remember a time when we had a change that didn't turn out to be for the best? Just think about last year and those crazy Christmas lights that somehow got wrapped around and around us, but yet, we ended up having a good laugh about it."

"That was pretty funny, wasn't it? Well, I guess you're right, Mama. When Grandma Sue moved us to this apartment, I wasn't sure I would like it here, but everyday I get to watch people walking by below our balcony, and Mama, did you know that there are some really strange people out there? I know Jesus loves them all, and I try to love everyone too, because I want to be like Jesus, but there are some people that are really hard to love, aren't there? "Angelina looked pointedly at her two brothers, Hiram and Harold, who by this time  had become bored with running around trying to catch each other's tail, and started focusing on annoying Angelina.

Mama laughed. "Yes dear, there are lots of people who are hard to love, but you are so right to say that Jesus loves them anyway, and we must try to do the same. Boys, why don't you both go find your Papa and see what he's up to -- you might be missing out on something fun!"

"Aw, Mama," Hiram replied, "Papa is doing the same thing he is always doing -- taking a nap!

Harold added, "I can hear him snoring from here!"

"You are so right, boys, I can hear him too! But you know what I think? I think you just need to go in there and tell him it's time for a change and that you want him to take you for a walk to show off your new Christmas style!"

"You come with us, Mama. He might get mad at us for waking him up! You know how grumpy he is sometimes."

"Oh, all right, let's all go together, shall we? I have an idea. Let's sneak up on him and sing, 'What Child is This!' He can't get mad at us for singing such a beautiful song, and since it's a song about sleeping, it will be perfect!" The children all laughed and jumped up and down at the great idea Mama had. It wasn't often that they actually got to wake Papa up -- Papa loved his naps.

As they got close to Papa, Mama looked at the kids and they all started to sing together,

What Child is this, 
Who laid to rest
On Mary's lap is sleeping?
Whom Angels greet with anthems sweet,
While shepherds watch are keeping?

Papa began to snort as he tossed and turned, trying to figure out who or what was disturbing his sacred nap time. But as he fully awoke and heard the beautiful music coming from his family, and saw their angelic faces, his heart melted and he quietly sat and smiled as they finished the song.

"Family, that was the loveliest serenade I have ever had! It was worth being awakened from my nap to hear you all singing about the Baby Jesus. You have just put me in the best Christmas mood ever!" And with that, he gathered them all in close and put a big kiss on the tip of each of their noses!

Amid all the laughter, suddenly Papa was heard to say something that forever removed Angelina's fear of change. The change in her Papa was not one she would soon forget. "Family, your voices are too good to keep to ourselves. I say we go down the street and sing Christmas Carols for everyone we meet! What do you say? And then we can stop for hot chocolate before we come back home." Papa smiled his biggest smile ever as he looked at the astonished faces of his family. "What? I mean, we have new Christmas outfits, we have Baby Jesus to sing about -- what more could we ask for? Let's go share all this change and excitement with the world!"

And sure enough, that's exactly what they did. As they huddled up and headed for the street, their voices could be heard loud and strong, singing, 

O Holy Night, the stars are brightly shining, it is the night of our dear Savior's birth.

When Did the Word “Christian” Become an Adjective?

Do you ever stop to look around at today’s Christian culture and wonder why anyone who is not a believer would ever want to be part of it? We seem to have developed a whole sub-culture of Christian music, Christian schools, Christian stores, Christian concerts, Christian conferences, Christian retreats, Christian jewelry, Christian magazines, Christian books, Christian television, Christian radio, Christian movies, etc., etc., etc. We have surrounded ourselves with all things Christian. We are slowly creating an environment that minimizes our interaction with people who are not yet followers of Christ. Why? Why would we want to do that if we are really trying to become more like Christ? Did He spend all His time in the synagogues teaching religious people, or did he go through the countryside, ministering to people and showing them genuine love? Did He not go to the rejects of society and offer hope? Did He not spend His short life on earth teaching that Christianity is not about who WE are, but about who HE is?

“We need inspiration! We need training! We need encouragement!” Christian people clamor. Yes, we do, but for what purpose? What are we doing with our fresh inspiration, our expert training and our motivating encouragement? Talking about it with our Christian friends? Savoring the way it makes us feel? Thanking God for the experience? Are we really trying to provide opportunities for people to find Jesus or are we instead looking for ways to “protect” ourselves from evil and experience a spiritual “high”? Does the church offer what we need to help us be on the offensive as we go out into the world, or does it encourage us to “circle the wagons” as if we were trying to keep out the enemy?

Jesus went on the offensive against the enemy, defeating him at every turn. If His Spirit lives in us, do we have any reason to fear evil?

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:37-39, NIV).

If Jesus were to return to earth today, would He would make a tour of churches telling Christians, “Well done, you have been my salt and light in the world!” (Matthew 5:13) or would He look around at the neglected, hurting people of our world and say to us, “What have you done to share my Good News with these lost children of mine?”

The Christian environment we have created can serve to provide Christians with the tools they need to go out into the world and share Christ. Instead, our inclination seems to be to savor those experiences, to talk about them, or even debate them. We may protest what we are taught or give our support, depending on whether the teaching aligns with our understanding of scripture. We organize groups to rally behind our beliefs to “show the world” our collective voice. These are not necessarily bad pursuits if our motives are to create an environment that will show the love of Christ. However I fear that many times, while we are engaged in our passionate pursuit of making a point, people all around us are dying without Jesus and we are too busy to notice.

The people of this world don’t care whether we wear a cross around our neck. They don’t care that we can sing all the words to the songs on the Christian radio station. They don’t care that our t-shirt has a picture of nail-scarred hands or a catchy Christian phrase. They don’t even care that we can pray for hours and quote scripture. What they care about is whether we care about them. Are we willing to step out of our comfortable Christian environment and step into their world? Do we care enough to show love and kindness and forgiveness to the unlovely, the mean-spirited and the hateful?

For in Christ, neither our most conscientious religion nor disregard of religion amounts to anything. What matters is something far more interior: faith expressed in love. (Galatians 5:6, The Message)

Christians hold a precious gift that has been offered to all men – eternal life. Yet so often we hoard that gift as if it were ours to keep. Christ compels us to move out of our pews and into the streets. He commands us to stop “playing church” and “go into all the world” (Matthew 28:19-20). When we go to a Christian conference, do we take what we’ve learned and use it to build His Kingdom, or do we simply sign up for the next one “because it was so inspiring?” Does Christian music move you to compassion for your neighbor whose dog barks all night, or does it just drown out the noise and help you deal with your anger? Do the scriptures you quote come from a heart of love or condemnation? Should we not take to heart these words of Paul in Colossians?  

^24-25I want you to know how glad I am that it's me sitting here in this jail and not you. There's a lot of suffering to be entered into in this world—the kind of suffering Christ takes on. I welcome the chance to take my share in the church's part of that suffering. When I became a servant in this church, I experienced this suffering as a sheer gift, God's way of helping me serve you, laying out the whole truth.

 ^26-29This mystery has been kept in the dark for a long time, but now it's out in the open. God wanted everyone, not just Jews, to know this rich and glorious secret inside and out, regardless of their background, regardless of their religious standing. The mystery in a nutshell is just this: Christ is in you, so therefore you can look forward to sharing in God's glory. It's that simple. That is the substance of our Message. We preach Christ, warning people not to add to the Message. We teach in a spirit of profound common sense so that we can bring each person to maturity. To be mature is to be basic. Christ! No more, no less. That's what I'm working so hard at day after day, year after year, doing my best with the energy God so generously gives me.  (Colossians 1:24-29, The Message)

The Church seems to be evolving into a place where those who don’t know Christ don’t feel welcome. Is that what He had in mind? The Church is Christ’s Body – a body that was broken for all men (1 Corinthians 10:15-17). As members of that broken body, we are compelled to make The Church a place where all men can find forgiveness, hope and salvation. The church must be a place that welcomes the lost and sends out the saved.

Perhaps we could strive to be worthy of these words Paul wrote to the Thessalonians in chapter one, verse 3 (NIV),

We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Born Identity

Whenever I talk to women, I find that most of them are battling an issue that I believe has been trying to beat women down for a long time. I find that most of us are confused about who we really are, what our role in society is supposed to be, and how our lives can have significance. I think the women of America are in an Identity Crisis.

Starting at a very early age, we are inundated with messages about what it means to be a girl. At first these messages seem simple and clear – girls wear pink, girls play with dolls, girls cry, girls wear dresses, girls are pretty, girls will be moms someday. I know when my granddaughters were pre-school age, they had a simple answer to the question of how boys and girls are different. They would simply say, “Boys are stinky!”

 Once we start school, however, that picture starts to blur a little. The lines become less defined. The rules seem to bend a little more. We become a little less sure exactly what our role in life is supposed to be, but we are pretty sure what we want it to be. I have 7 granddaughters and although they are all more grown-up now than I’d like them to be, there was a time when everyone of them would get all starry-eyed when the princess in the movie got married to the prince and they embraced in a kiss.

Then adolescence hits. The hormones are telling us one thing; society is telling us another thing; our parents’ voices are ringing in our heads, as well as the voices of our friends. Who should we listen to? Who has the truth? From this point on, the confusion of who we are as females, what is expected of us and why we are here becomes almost overwhelming. I pray for my granddaughters in this stage of life, because I remember how difficult my own life was in those years.

As we pass through each season of life, we can all find reasons to be angry. As we focus on ourselves, it will always seem that someone else has the life we want, or the body we want, or the job we want, or the family we want, or the spouse we want. We will be filled with discontent. We will no longer know who we are outside the context of all the roles that define us.

We live out this lack of identity in great insecurity, feeling that around each corner disaster awaits because we are unable to be what others need us to be. We will surely fail because we are not pretty enough, not smart enough, not good enough. We feel a growing sense of fear about what the future holds for us, knowing that we are only growing older, weaker and less pretty. Each day we have less to offer to our families and to society. What if we completely lose our usefulness?

We also live out our lack of identity in an overwhelming sense of inadequacy. We feel unable to measure up to those around us. As we compare the beauty or the skills of others to our own, we feel inferior. As we witness the accomplishments of others, we feel insignificant in the big picture of life. As our sense of worth deteriorates, we fear we will be rejected.

As our insecurity and inadequacy threaten to drive us to despair, we find that there is one way to survive. We become insensitive. We pretend it doesn’t matter. We become driven to learn new skills that will help us stay competitive. We do whatever we have to do to preserve an appearance of youth. We become overly-focused on self improvement, which serves to further highlight our inadequacies and insecurities, and the whole process feeds off itself, as we sink deeper and deeper into the question of “Who am I really, and why am I here?”

We can all relate to at least some part of this downward spiral. Women seem to have a universal bent for seeing the worst in themselves and dwelling on their weaknesses. Unfortunately we tend to compensate for those feelings by also noticing and pointing out the weaknesses of others.

Women are losing their grip on who they were created to be. I think this is greatly due to the changing perception of who Mom really is and what she should look like. Over the years of my life I have watched a steady stream of motherhood role models march across my TV screen. Thinking back on my childhood, I grew up in a time when most people believed that moms should be home with their kids and not out in the marketplace. We saw this perceived role portrayed on “Leave it to Beaver”. Hopefully there are at least a few people out there who are old enough to remember the Cleaver family. Each day when Wally and Beaver came home from school, June Cleaver would be waiting in the kitchen, ready to greet them with an after school snack, and hear about their day.  Women of that era found some identity with what they saw in June Cleaver, and yet, I don’t think it answered all their questions about their role in society.

Another TV Mom that came into our living rooms, shaping our ideas of motherhood, was Marion Cunningham. How many people remember Mrs C from the TV show “Happy Days?” Mrs. C wasn’t quite as serious a mom as June Cleaver. She gave us the feeling that moms should be fun and maybe just a little crazy – after all, what normal mom would allow a hoodlum like “The Fonz” to live over the family garage? This mom made us laugh at times, but she also gave us the feeling that most of the time she was somewhat clueless about what was really going on with Richie and Joanie. She was entertaining, but I don’t think most women really identified with Mrs. C as a role model for motherhood.

Then before long we had “The Brady Bunch.” Carole Brady seemed ready to solve any problem the kids might be facing, but, of course, she had help. Alice, the faithful housekeeper, was also there to pick up where mom left off. Watching Carole and Alice in their sort of “tag-team mothering” must have given some women the subconscious thought that moms deserve hired help. It was almost as if there were two moms in the house.

Then a new TV mom appeared on the scene and looking back at that time in our society, it seems to me that a shift in our perception of motherhood began to take place. We began to get messages that moms can have it all. Being a mom didn’t necessarily mean you had to give up being something else. It was possible to be a mom and still have a successful career. This was played out perfectly in front of our eyes on “The Bill Cosby Show” as Clair Huxtable skillfully directed her household, nurtured her children, built a successful law practice, and met the needs of her doctor husband. She was perfect --perhaps a little too perfect. She opened up a whole new world. The question is: was it a real world or a TV fantasy world?

Today we see magazines filled with stories and photos of celebrity moms and our confusion about the role of a mom grows even greater. Our country is facing an identity crisis among women. Where can we find our true identity?  Of course, we are intelligent enough to know that what we see played out in television sit-coms is not reality, and yet, often those shows contain just enough reality to make us wonder. What if? What if I had a husband who made lots of money? What if my children always listened to my good advice? What if I had a home with a spacious kitchen and a housekeeper to keep it spotless? But then we compare the what-if’s to the reality of life and we tend to lose hope that we will ever have the kind of success we expect to have.

Perhaps this is why we are so fascinated with the so-called reality shows that seem to dominate our TV screens today. We watch the “real life” scenarios on the tube and somehow find some sense of relief in knowing that we aren’t the only messed up people in the world.

So how do we climb out of this abyss of insecurity, inadequacy and insensitivity? How do we gain a healthy perspective of what a successful woman really is? Where are we to find our true identity?
We have to start with reality. Not the kind of reality we see on reality TV, but the kind of reality that’s real. The reality that teaches us that our value comes from being created in God’s image. The reality that our significance is evident in the fact that when we separated ourselves from Him in sin, He was willing to sacrifice His Son, a part of Himself, to make it possible for us to be reconciled to Him . The reality that we leave behind a legacy as we use the life He’s given us to serve His purpose, and that purpose has no dependency on whether we are a mother, a career woman, or some combination of both. He created us to serve Him by making a difference in the lives of other people.

What does all that really mean? How can we, as women, live lives that have value and significance and also leave a legacy beyond our lifetime -- because isn’t that really what gives us identity? Isn’t that what helps us define who we are and what our purpose is?

 I think God gave us the perfect formula for answering these questions by including in His Word a letter from a mother to her son. Some woman are intimidated by Proverbs 31, but what we have to keep in mind is that this is not a description of an actual woman, but rather a list of attributes that the mother of King Lemuel wanted him to refer to in his search for a wife of noble character. These verses are a formula this mother gave her son to help him move past his hormones and his chemistry to look for a woman with true value. I believe it is God’s intent that as we become women of noble character as outlined in these verses, we will also display our true identity in Him! Below is the Sue Wilson paraphrased version of the Proverbs 31 woman:

 A woman of value is trustworthy, generous and kind. She looks out for the best interests of others. She is a woman who makes the best use she can of the talents God has given her. She works hard at whatever task she’s been given. She wants to make her home a place that welcomes others. She reaches out to those in need. She does all she can to prepare for the future. She ages gracefully, not in bitterness. She speaks with kindness and wisdom. She lives in a way that earns respect. She is humble.

I think we would all agree that a woman like this is one we could admire and appreciate. A woman like this has no reason to feel insecure, inadequate or be insensitive. A woman who displays these characteristics is a woman of value, who has significance and who will leave a legacy for future generations. But you may be thinking, “Yeah, right! I could never be all that!” Well --me neither, which is why we are going to try and simplify the whole thing a little more.

Look at Titus 2. This passage is part of a letter from Paul to Titus outlining his leadership role in the church. I think it also speaks to us as it begins in verse 3 by saying , “Similarly, teach the older women to live in a way that honors God. They must not slander others or be heavy drinkers. Instead, they should teach others what is good. These older women must train the younger women to love their husbands and their children, to live wisely and be pure, to work in their homes, to do good, and to be submissive to their husbands. Then they will not bring shame on the word of God.”

Although this verse refers to “older women,” keep in mind that no matter what your age, you are older than someone. What you have to ask yourself is whether or not younger women can look at you and see the attributes it talks about here. Is the church body respected because of what they see in you, or do you give Christianity a bad name?

I have always been fascinated, but also dismayed at the ability of women to smile at someone in their presence and then rip them to shreds behind their back. I love being a woman, but I hate this part of us. This type of behavior does not display the identity of Christ. As we scrutinize our behavior, we find so many clues that we are still searching for significance in the eyes of the world instead of recognizing that we already have significance simply in being daughters of the Creator of the Universe. The way we look, the things we do, the places we go – everything about us should be a reflection of who we are in Christ, not who the world thinks we should be.

Look at 1 Peter 3, starting with verse 4: “Cultivate inner beauty, the gentle, gracious kind that God delights in.”  Then let’s skip down to verses 10-11, “Whoever wants to embrace life and see the day fill up with good, here’s what you do: Say nothing evil or hurtful; snub evil and cultivate good; run after peace for all you’re worth.”

Isn’t that truly what we want – to embrace life and see the day fill up with good? We can have that by cultivating good instead of evil. We can have that by following the example of the life of Jesus. We can have that by finding our true identity in Him.

Once we have accepted the reality that our true identity comes from living in the humility of being simple, genuine and unpretentious, we can find freedom from insecurity. As we live out God’s purpose for our lives by making a difference in the lives of others, we will be filled with a sense of worth. We will know that we are valued by the Creator of the Universe and that no matter what anyone else thinks of us, His opinion is all that matters.

We will also find that, in this true source of identity, we will be completely adequate to meet whatever may come our way, because the Bible tells us that when we are weak, He is strong. His strength is sufficient for all that we will face. He will be our wisdom when we don’t know what to do. He will help us take the next step when we feel paralyzed to move ahead. 

As each of us learns to embrace the uniqueness of who we are in Christ, we will no longer find ourselves insensitive to those around us, but we will instead be filled with a desire to reach out to them; to share the love of God with them and to embrace the many ways He will show Himself in them; to rejoice with them in victory and to weep with them in times of trouble. But even more than that, we will recognize that this IS our identity; this is what we were created to do — love others with the love of Jesus and share with them the Good News of our forever life in Him.

Sue's Saga of the Day

Well, I was going to make a Facebook post, but I decided this was more of a saga and would be more appropriately presented in a blog, so here goes:

I decided I needed to convert a dress into a long top and was halfway into that project when I realized I didn't like where my sewing machine was located. So I stopped the Dress Conversion Project to move my sewing machine to a different wall in the same room.

This, of course, also meant the relocation of where some things were plugged into the wall. 

As I assessed that issue, I determined that all my electronics, which are located in the same room as my sewing machine, would be much more aesthetically pleasing if they were inside of my desk drawer, so as to hide all the cords a little better. So I began making those changes, which is no easy task -- it requires a fair amount of rolling around on the floor with my head under the desk.(And then, of course, there is the issue of getting back up off the floor...) 

In the middle of that task, there was a knock on the door, and I was elated to see that the new wheels for my small carry-on bag had arrived from Amazon. I had spent some time a couple days ago figuring out how to replace them and what to order. Normally, these parts would be ordered from the luggage manufacturer, but my bag is an older model and they no longer sell the parts, which is not just the wheels, but the wheel housing as well. I knew, after researching online, that I could replace just the wheels, but it would require drilling out the wheel axle, which was riveted into the wheel housing. I had spent a few hours trying to do that and was close to getting one wheel done, when my friend, Mike Pape, stopped by to deliver a table he made for us.(He is a master with wood, by the way!) I noticed He actually had a manly drill, unlike my little girly one, which prompted me to ask him if he would be so kind as to help me with the Drilling Out of the Riveted Axle Project. He graciously agreed and was able to complete the drilling in no time. Of course, I am now fraught with drill envy..... Anyway, that all happened a couple days ago and I was anxiously awaiting the arrival of my new wheels so that I could reassemble the wheel housing with the new wheels and axle. Let me just say here, that in case you have ever wondered, like I have, why your luggage lining has all kinds of zippers and velcro in it, I now know the answer to that question. You have to get under the lining to remove important screws when you replace things like wheels. Okay, that's just a side note for those inquiring minds out there. 

When the wheels arrived at my door, I completely forgot that I was ever doing anything else and went right to work on the Install New Wheels Project. That turned out to be a bigger job that I expected because the new axle had a bigger head than would fit into the recessed hole it needed to go into. I knew ahead of time that this might be a possibility, and that if necessary, I may need to drill out the hole a little bigger to accommodate the axle head. So I promptly began to do just that. Again with the drill envy (maybe Santa will take note...) ! Anyway, it took a long time to get the hole big enough, but eventually I was able to drill out the hole, insert the new axle and wheel into the wheel housing and reattach the housing to the suitcase, reinserting all the screws I had removed. Yay! It worked and the suitcase rolls like a new bag! I am beaming with pride!

Then as I walked back to my office, I noticed the Dress Conversion Project that was still waiting on my new table in the living room where I left it when I decided to move my sewing machine.

And then I remembered that I was also in the middle of moving all the plugs for the electronics as well. That's when I started to laugh. I had actually had three projects going at the same time! 

And of course before I could finish either the Plug Moving Project or the Dress Conversion Project, I was now compelled to tell someone about it, which as everyone knows, is best done in a blog. So, there you have it. Sue's Saga of the Day is born, and you are lucky enough to get to read all about it!