Christmas 2013

Dear Friends and Family, As in the last 9 years, I bring you more thoughts of the Christmas story. Every year I wonder what God is going to teach me, and this year God is using Simeon. Of the four gospels, only Luke records the story of Simeon. I would like to have known Luke. I would like to have watched him as he gathered information about Jesus in order to record it. I wonder who he talked with and how he chose which information to share in his gospel. He shares things the other gospels leave out...things that must have seemed insignificant to most, but to Luke, important. I imagine Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem, Jesus’ birth, shepherds visit, on the 8th day Joseph circumcised and named Jesus, on the 40th day they make the 5 mile walk to the temple to offer a sacrifice to redeem the firstborn son. They climb the stairs and pass through the section of the temple in which Gentiles are allowed, climb more stairs to the Court of Women where Mary pays the price for the turtledoves or pigeons. They climb more stairs to the threshold of the temple where she waits to be noticed by a priest. One comes to her and sprinkles her with the sacrificial blood and declares her clean. She offers up Jesus. We are not sure if Simeon was a priest or just a man in the temple. Some historical documents suggest he may have been one of the 72 translators of the Septuagint which would make him over 200 at the time of this story. Simeon is described as righteous and devout. How wonderful for such a thing to be said of you. He was looking for the Messiah. (This same phrase is repeated about Joseph of Arimathea as he asks for the body of Christ at the crucifixion.) Wow! Am I constantly looking for Jesus everyday? As Simeon looked….he saw! Oh that when I look, I will see! Simeon had the “Holy Spirit upon him.” As a Christian, the Holy Spirit is not just upon me, but in me. Simeon had been promised by the Spirit that he would see the Messiah before his death. His faith in that promise was firm. Oh, that my faith in the promises of God were so firm as Simeon’s. Simeon’s one heart’s desire was to see the Messiah. Oh that that will also continually be my heart’s desire. And he had such insight about it. Oh that would have insight to see and understand daily. Mary and Joseph allowed him, a stranger, to hold their baby. First, he blesses God, then he thanks God for the promised child. Oh that I would bless God and thank Him daily for the gift of Jesus. Next he talks about Jesus being a light to the Gentiles. Joseph and Mary were amazed at what was being said about their child. I always find that funny….they got angelic appearances, shepherds visits, knew He was the Messiah, are are still amazed when others proclaim it. I wonder if they doubted his identity, or if they were amazed that God revealed truths to others. Sometimes I think I am the only one God is speaking to...then I hear what God is doing in someone else’s life and the realization that I am not “special” smacks me in the face and I see God speaking to everyone. It is just those who are listening who are gettting it. Next, Simeon blesses Mary and Joseph...I love that part. I smile. They need some blessing...they have been through a lot of social shunning, etc. They are alone in a place that is not home and they have been stuck there for at least 40 days or so until Mary is well enough to travel back home after the birth. As Simeon spoke to Mary, he says scary things. I half hope she did not understand until she was watching Jesus die on the cross, but as a mother myself, I bet she thought about and worried about those words many times. I bet every time anything happened, she wondered if that is what Simeon meant. I wonder if she thought of that while she stood at the foot of the cross in utter despair. Among the scary things that Simeon spoke, were also words of comfort to the fallen world. There were words of hope for Gentiles, actually an Old Testament quote. Oh, that the words I speak could be as hopeful, inspiring and insightful as Simeon’s. I have learned from Simeon: I should seek Jesus daily and expect to see Him working in me; make it my heart’s desire to see Him and trust His promises. May I bless God and others. May I be thankful for the gift of Jesus, everyday. May I continually be amazed at a God who communicates with all of us all the time. May I always be listening to God. May my words bring comfort, hope, inspiration and insight. May I wait patiently, and expectantly to do good to those around me as Jesus would have me do. When I see Jesus, may I freely share Him with a fallen world. May we all focus on whatever aspect of the Christmas story God reveals to us more deeply than before. May it change us this year! Merry Christmas!!

Memories

God is so good to me. I was reading over the past posts here and looking at some things He has said. God is awesome. He is too big for me to understand, but it is good to just sit with Him and have Him hold your hand.

2012 Christmas Letter

Dear Friends and Family, Here I am again this year bringing you no family news, recipes, cards, ornaments or glitter. As in the last 8 years, I bring you my thoughts of the Christmas story. This year, God is teaching me about His perspective. At first, I thought how sad it was…to send His Son to die. But, this is not an Easter story, it is a Christmas story. It is a story of birth, hope, happiness and rejoicing. So, I thought about a father awaiting the birth of his child. That is what the Christmas story is for God. It is a time of rejoicing and celebration. I wonder if God was thinking about how wonderful it was going to be to watch Jesus grow up, to see His birth, first steps, first words, etc. I looked through the scriptures and saw all the planning and preparation that was made for Jesus’ life. We humans plan things like the nursery, clothes, bottles, etc. But God planned Jesus’ whole life. He had control of Elizabeth and Zacharias. He caused Elizabeth to conceive after being barren for so long. He planned for John, Jesus’ cousin to be born in just the right time. He prepared Mary and Joseph by sending angels to tell them what was going to happen. He prepared a star in the sky and led wise men to see it and understand its significance. He let angels appear to shepherds so they would come and worship Jesus who would be known as the good shepherd. He “sent out announcements” centuries before Jesus was even conceived through prophets who had only a small understanding of what they were prophesying. Every piece, every prophecy, every detail planned out. I never thought about how much thought God put into Jesus birth and life. I knew of the prophecies, John, etc. But I never thought of how much planning and orchestrating it took to get everything to converge and be fulfilled in that one tiny baby. From the beginning of the earth, when Jesus was the “word” to the physical birth of the Savior, God had everything planned. Jesus obediently fulfilled every plan. That got me thinking about how much God must be planning for my own life. I began to think about how I remember times that I have not listened to the Spirit’s leading and went off to do my own will. How disappointing that must be to God. Sometimes it has been rebellion and other times just a lack of listening on my part. Either way, His perfect plan for my life is thwarted by my lack of understanding of the significance in following His will in every little thing. This year I want to be more attentive to God and what He wants from me. What does God want me to buy for whom? Gift giving is something God does every day. This year I will think of that as I give gifts to others. What would God want me to give? I know He wants me to show His love while I shop, drive, give and worship. I can do that in little ways, like picking up things that have fallen off the shelf at the store, helping others, smiling, giving up my place in line, giving to those in need (spiritual need is as important as physical need) and so much more. I will try hard to take time to look around me and see how I can help. Can I show patience and understanding to that slow cashier? Can I say some uplifting things to my co workers? Can I encourage students? Is there some student or co worker for which I need to do something special? May we all be obedient to the will of God and may He richly bless us even when we fail Him. May we love Him like a father and seek Him every minute and fulfill His will for us. May God richly bless you with the gifts He desires to give to you. May you receive peace and grace daily and may they so overflow that others are blessed by the presence of God in you. Have a blessed Christmas that flows into a wonderful new year. Sincerely, Missy, Tim, Tina and Emmalee McCoskey

Christmas Letter

Dear Friend,

I want to again share with you my personal Christmas tradition; not of recipes and decorations, family and photos, but a tradition of listening to God and seeing something new tucked away within the Christmas story. This year God called me to it before my usual time of reading, pondering and praying about the Christmas story.

As I reached for my computer early one morning, God stopped me and told me it was time to read the Christmas story and find a new nugget to share. I put away my laptop and picked up my Bible. As I asked God which to read, Matthew or Luke, He guided me to Luke. As I read, several things popped out to me, but the most interesting was Mary’s response. I have written about it before, but this year I got a new perspective on it.

When Gabriel first appears, Mary is greatly troubled, disturbed and confused. The angel tells her not to be afraid. I suppose troubled and disturbed could be fear, but it almost seems as if Mary was just trying to figure out what this was all about. I wonder if this was her first encounter with an angel. It seems there were lots of angel appearances back then.

Gabriel says you “will” become pregnant and give birth to a Son. Then, Mary asks how that can be since she has never “been” with a man. This is curious, since she is engaged and Gabriel uses the word “will” become instead of “are.” Why didn’t Mary think that she and Joseph would be the parents in the future? This must be a translation problem. It makes me wonder if Mary was already pregnant. Had the Holy Spirit already come upon Mary? Did Gabriel really say that Mary was already pregnant with the Messiah? Did she ask how that could possibly be since she was a virgin? Did he respond that it was the work of the Holy Spirit? It seems that this may be the case.

At any rate, Mary responds that she is the handmaid of the Lord, let it be done. This was amazing to me that she thought she had a choice. I wonder if she really did have a choice or not. Gabriel does not seem to be asking, but telling. What if Mary would have said, “No, I am not up for that challenge”? I choose to marry Joseph and live a normal life. I will not be the mother of the Savior. What would have happened? Would God have done it anyway? Would He have chosen someone else? Would He have not sent Jesus after all? Mary’s simple sentence that complied with God’s will made all the difference in my life, today.

When God shares His will with me, how does my compliance (or non compliance) affect the world? Is it presumptuous to think that my actions affect the whole world? I have seen tiny things make a large difference and huge things seem to not affect anything. I think we can never know how each thing we do or say may change the future. This makes it imperative that we always comply and obey God’s will.

This year, we need to listen to the still small voice. We need to hear, heed and obey the voice of God in our lives. If you hear the voice, obey it. If you do not hear it, take the time to start listening. Hearing God is one of the most fulfilling things in life. If only it could always be as easy as it was for Mary (the hearing part, not the obeying). If an angel could show up and speak plainly to us, that would be so wonderful. However, God doesn’t always work that way. Mostly we have to take time to listen. When we start listening, His voice is so much easier to pick out and hear without as much effort. I pray that I can listen and hear God. I pray that my heart will have the attitude to obey. I pray that I will be pleasing to God as Mary was.

May we all listen this Christmas season and obey in the small things. May we let someone in front of us in line at the store. May we help someone who needs it. May we open doors for one another. May we pick up that piece of paper and put it in the trash. May we truly be Jesus to the world in all the small ways. So that we may be the avenue through which some hear of Jesus and accept the call.

Have a Blessed Christmas,

Missy, Tim, DJ, Tina and Emmalee

God is so good

It is good to just talk to God. He makes me laugh so often. He told me that I am one of the few people who think He is funny. I think that is part of God most people do not really 'get'. The only reason I get it a little bit is because He made me that way. I think I need the humor He displays. God is so good!

Knowing God in the everyday

It is awesome to meet God daily in the mundane things of life. Sunday morning Jesus sat by me in church. It was good to feel His presence so close. It was good to worship at church. Sometimes I have to be reminded at how awesome what He did for me is. It seems He gets so familiar that I forget the sacrifices He has made for me. But, just when the guilt of ingratitude hits, His still small voice says, "It is supposed to be like that. Dont worry, you are not ungrateful, just relaxing in the blessings I give. You are be coming so relaxed and familiar that our relationship is like your favorite jeans: comfortable, broken in in all the right places, protecting, covering, something you would be lost without. That is how I want it. Thanks for remembering what I did for you, but the most important thing now is that we become so familiar that all except now fades and our current relationship ...is."

Conversation

I have not blogged in a while. I have been out of touch with the internet, but now I can copy some things from my journal. I will start with Wednesday July 21. I went to the beach for sunrise at 5:30 am. It was awesome. Dolphins swimming a hundred feet off shore or so. I got video of them! Then I said:
God, this is beautiful, but remember how You talked to me in Florida about the ocean and how much it is like Your love?

God: Yes. I told you how I am always reaching for you to come in. Pulling you toward my love.

Missy: I dont feel as close to You now as I did then.

God: You are closer. Remember how you needed to feel me all around you then because of all you were going through? It was like I had to crash into you with waves of My love because you were hurting so much and were so afraid that you stayed close to shore. The waves of My love were crashing, pulling and pushing. But now you are way out in the deep and dyou only feel a gentle rocking. You've been in the deep so long that you dont even realize how deep you are. I no longer pull you out and push you in. You stay in the deeep. After you get past the pushing and pulling, you gently get pulled deeper and deeper. Really, once you are in over your head it really doesnt matter how deep you are, drowning is possible. even thouh you roll with the waves of my love, you no longer feel the strong pulse of pushing, pulling, crashing and knocking you down. You can relax in the quiet peacefulness of pulsating waters. They are glorious reflecting waters that portray me. I and my love are the ocean. As you see the sunrise the water and light are one until the sun pops up over the water, then it is attached to the water by the long thin line of reflective rope and rays that take it from the sky to beach. Water reflecting the lightof the sun always a bright tether holding us together. Your sins are erased as you wash in My love, like footprints on the sand are gone with the next wave. Love is not always kind and gentle, but it is for you right now. I love you so much.

Missy; I love You, too.

God: Yes, you do!