Bright red birds, soft falling snow, children’s voices, candleglow, and a silver star to light your way—these are the joys of December days.
Dale Cross Purvis
This old man, he played one. He played nick knack on my thumb; with a nick knack, patty wack, give a dog a bone. This old man came rolling home… It felt like all the way to ten I sang. Desperate for him to calm down. His little tears dried in an instant, and his eyes found comfort in mine. I smiled, “Lord, I know he will always love me, but let him like me. Let him seek me out to spend time as he grows.”
Snips and tails and puppy dog tails, that’s what little boys are made of.
Tyson is as easy as honey slipping into a hot cup of tea. He rarely gets upset. Yet, He always looks at me as though he just saw me for the first time. His excitement is subtle, but his love is deep. Charlotte likes to hold him with his legs dangling and shake him while she sings as loud and fast as she can to calm him down (it is as funny as you imagine). Eva will calmly take him wherever she is going and watch him play with ease. She thinks he belongs to her.
This season brought a sudden thankfulness, remembering how God protected Tyson and me through his arrival. It has captivated me throughout this year. I have not had many moments to call my own, as all mothers know, yet this year has brought a nearness of the Holy Spirit that has been unmatched for me. Just when I think I know Him, He shows himself stronger. In my exhaustion, I have found strength. Joy has been a pillar for me to lean on. Through silliness and seriousness, the Holy Spirit has risen above the noise and softened me. I have felt him over dirty diapers, crayons scribbled on the walls, and in teaching multiplication tables. Just when I have thought the waters would cover me; He rolls back the tide.
Historians believe that the people of Israel only possessed a fraction of the land that God had intended for them. I was talking with my mother over Thanksgiving. We had a moment to visit and talk about God’s goodness. I treasure times like this with her because her faith spurs me on.
I commented to her that I did not want to arrive when I was old and gray, at heaven’s gates, and find out I only possessed a fraction of what God had for me right here on earth. I want to live in His provision and protection, but not apart from His presence. May it be an unmistakable marker that radiates who He is. I don’t want to leave blessings like children, relationships, monetary, health, and wholeness within the land God promised me, but I failed to sound the alarm and fight for what is mine.
Do not let the endless succession of small things crowd great ideals out of sight and out of mind.
Charlotte Mason
The hustle and bustle starts early for Christmas around our home. If allowed, Christmas movies would begin in July. The anticipation lingers in the air; pure delightful.
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I was not feeling well, catching a healing, if you will, as I was making a pot of chicken noodle soup. Eva has learned how to make a perfect cup of tea. She brought me a steaming cup that warmed my throat and comforted my spirit.
Nothing soothes my soul and body like my mother’s chicken noodle soup. I was sneezing and blowing but steadily making a healing pot of soup. Eva and Charlotte had been in the kitchen twenty times for a bite of the dough while I cut and placed noodles in the pot to boil. Homemade noodles in the soup are just the touch it needs.
I was working away and didn’t notice a little guy crawling onto the stool. I saw this little hand reach for the dough. I was about to scold Charlotte for stealing more dough when I stopped and smiled. At almost a year old, he wanted to be by me. He wanted to see what I was doing, just to be close to me. My heart flooded with thankfulness that the previous year could not have known.
A thoughtful mind and a heart that’s kind, That’s what little boys are made of.
Tyson is the most contented blessing I couldn’t leave behind. He leaves me thankful while humming, This old man came rolling home… -and he did.
“That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth…” Psalms 144:12
