Home for the Holidays

Photo by Paige Cody on Unsplash

Home

Home. What a wonderful word. Just mentioning it brings thoughts of warm apple pies, a cheery fire in the winter, or maybe a family game of bocce ball in the summer. Just saying it feels good, doesn’t it?  

I have a friend who once said, “Home is where the mattress fits!” And I think we can just about all agree with that…there’s just no place like home! Especially on the holidays! Of course, we all know that there are places where people live together as families that don’t have that “homey” feeling. Where harsh words and abuse are the norm, rather than hugs and support. But what does the Bible tell us our homes are meant to be?

I would submit to you that the home is the first institution mentioned in the Bible. I think God did that on purpose to let us know that the home is the most important institution in His Creation. He didn’t create Adam and Eve and then give them the institution of the church, or the government, or even the Ten Commandments. He instituted the home. And in Deuteronomy, He gave us this admonition:

“Thou shalt teach them (God’s commands) diligently unto thy children and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in the house; and when thou walkest in the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up…And thou shalt write them upon the post of thy house and on thy gates.”
— Deuteronomy

Maybe that’s why the home is so important to God, because it is the very center of learning about God. It is our job to teach God personally, intimately, and continuously to our children, and not just to our children (or grandchildren) but to ourselves.

Perhaps this is something we should especially consider during the wonderful Advent Season and Christmas. I’m very pleased that our son’s family celebrates a Shepherd’s Supper on Christmas Eve, reading the true Christmas story, eating the foods that the shepherds might have eaten, sitting in their bathrobes in front of the fireplace with no electric lights. I think that is wonderful and meaningful. Do you have a family tradition to share with others? There must be a meaningfulness in the things we do, be it lighting the advent candles and reading the Bible, or softly singing Christmas carols. We can make this time rich, special, and memorable. We can make it homey.

I pray this Christmas will be a joy-filled, meaningful season in your life and in the lives of those you touch — neighbors, friends, relatives, or unknown folks in the stores or in the street. Let the joy of the season fill you to overflowing and then spill out to those around you.

Merry Christmas and a meaningful, happy new year to one and all!

Photo by Paige Cody on Unsplash

Lura K. Houk (Katy)

Think on These Things

Think on These Things

Think on These Things

I heard a story of a doctor who had completed a routine examination on a child when the mother mentioned her concern about her son’s craving for junk food. After thinking for a moment, the doctor asked the boy, “What do you want to be when you grow up?”

“I want to be a doctor,” the boy replied.

“And what would you say to a boy whose mother complained about his wanting so much junk food?”

The boy quickly answered, “I’d say, ‘It’s all right, Son. I ate junk food when I was a kid and look at me now!’”

Mission Impossible: Time and Expectations

Mission Impossible: Time and Expectations

Mission Impossible: Time and Expectations

Hello, my friends, I know we are all getting geared up for a beautiful October morphing into a spectacular fall. Most people get to October and immediately equate it with Halloween. I don’t think, “October = Halloween”. I think “October = crisp apples, cider and donuts, beautifully colored leaves raining down like multi-colored blessings from above.” But then, that’s just me.

Shall We Talk?

Shall We Talk?

 Shall We Talk?

Do you ever talk to yourself? You know, I find I am talking to myself more and more, as I am reaching (ahem) my senior years. (As though I am still reaching…) (OK, let’s face it — I’m already there!) Sometimes just hearing words out loud makes an issue seem clearer. I’ve heard people say, “Of course, I talk to myself. I want to know the listener is intelligent.” Or my niece recently gave me a t-shirt which reads: “Sometimes I talk to myself. And then we both just laugh and laugh!”

Springtime & Sweet Water

Springtime & Sweet Water

Springtime

People sing “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” during the Christmas season, but I think spring is the most wonderful time of the year. Apparently, some think the months of spring are March, April, and May, but I think spring is still April, May, and June. Nothing revelatory or scientific there. Just, as the old timers used to say before I became one of them, “I feel it in my bones.”

That's Faith


The Substance of Things Hoped For

Five letters. Five little letters. If you are into Wordle, you know those five letters can lead to a multiple of answers, only one of which will be the correct one. The five-letter word I am talking about here is FAITH.

It seems like a small thing. It seems like a no-brainer for the professing Christian. It seems like an absolute for the sanctified believer. But it’s not always so simple, and it’s not always so small. Faith.

In a conversation, a woman was telling me how she had advised a fearful friend that if she exercised enough faith (in the saving God — not in her ability to believe), she could beat down her fears and apprehensions. She told her it was unnecessary to live with vague fears and premonitions and apprehensions, because they were of the evil one and not intended for believers. Right or wrong, good advice or flimsy, look at the advice from the view of the one receiving the admonition: the one who must continually work to have, lean toward, and pursue faith. For some, it is not an easy acquisition.

I found some notes of a sermon I heard at Daybreak Community Church, in Lexington, KY, a few years back. The pastor had made this observation:

““You are ill.  You go to your family doctor, who sends you to a specialist. You do not know this specialist. You have never seen him before, and, furthermore, you can’t even pronounce his name.

He tells you something you know nothing about and gives you a prescription that you can’t read for a sophisticated chemical compound that you don’t understand.

You take that prescription to a pharmacist you do not know, and whose last name does not even appear on his name tag. He gives you a medicine that you know absolutely nothing about and tells you how to use it. When you get home, without questioning, you take it as prescribed.

”That’s Faith.””
— Daybreak Community Church, Lexington, KY

Our Ladies’ Bible Study this morning was entitled, “Joy in Affliction”.  Where is your faith in time of affliction Let alone joy? This study is based on the joy-filled book of Philippians, but when you talk of joy in affliction, it must always come back to faith. And faith is the subject of Hebrews 11, whose writer penned:

““Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.””
— Hebrews 11:1

Why not take a little time to read the short book of Philippians and the long chapter of Hebrews 11? Can you exercise faith in your affliction? Perhaps then you can also find joy in your faith. How’s that working for you?

Have a blessed May!

Happy Mother’s Day!

Have A Beautiful Thanksgiving!

Teller of Tales

We can all use some wisdom from Tom T.

(not a typical turkey)

Tom T. - Not a Thanksgiving Turkey!

If you’ve read any of my books, you’ll know Tom T. is a family farm turkey who shares stories about other animals on the farm. Without being preachy, these books show growth of character. Learn more about these hardcover bilingual beauties on my website and contact me if you’d like to purchase one or more for Christmas this year.

Time Out

I want to let you know I’m still here and doing well. I’ve been caring for my sister, who has dementia, both at her home, and now in ours. Though she sleeps quite a bit, it is difficult to plan around her care, which is 24/7. My blogs have taken a back seat, temporarily.

I am thankful for this time with my sister and the ability to care for her from our home. Most of all, I’m thankful for Jesus and all he does in our lives - especially for salvation.

I hope you, your family, and friends are thriving and enjoy this Thanksgiving.

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