Christmas Memories and Miracles

I found myself talking to the dog on our morning walk a couple of days ago, about the whole idea of “After Christmas Memories.” I had got to thinking that most of the fond memories that I’ve heard people tell of, usually occurred in the days before or on Christmas day itself.

But I had been reminded earlier that morning, of a special event that happened in the days following Christmas almost 30 years ago.  The Christian radio station that I usually listen to in the morning had switched over to their special “12 Days of Christmas” format and was playing contemporary Christian Christmas songs from the last few decades… and it was a cut from Steven Curtis Chapman’s 1995 “The Music of Christmas” album that pulled me back to that heartfelt experience.

In the twenty years that I worked for Hewlett Packard and their spin-off, Agilent Technologies, I normally took the week after Christmas off from work.  It was the first extended time off that I would take since the summer each year and it gave me quiet time to spend with my family.  It was also the first break we got after months of preparation and practice for the annual Children’s Christmas program at the church.  So, like I said, it was a time to just kick back and relax!

Therefore, in that particularly busy and at times difficult year, Piper and I decided to grab the opportunity afforded by her homeschooling vacation and my time off and spend a couple of days alone, at our favorite lodge up on the Sonoma County coast.  So, we threw a few essentials into the back of the Camaro, stopped at our neighborhood Raley’s for meals and snacks and pointed the car west, toward the Pacific Ocean!

The weather all along the coast was typical for that time of year and was dreary, overcast and cold.  But you know… any day, no matter what the weather… was always a beautiful day at the coast for us!  I think that we probably spent more time in the room on that visit than we normally did, but we enjoyed being alone and listening to the new Steven Curtis Chapman Christmas cassette that the kids had given us when we opened presents a few days previous.

So, when that song from that album played on the radio these many years later… I was transported back in time to that lodge room with its little kitchen, sitting area, bedroom and bath, along with its breath-taking views of the Pacific Ocean below the cliff a few dozen yards outside our window. 

The particular memory that was so sweet to me was of me sitting in a chair and watching Piper, who was standing with her back toward me, across the room, getting a snack for herself at the kitchen counter... with Steven Curtis Chapman singing “Christmas Is All in the Heart” from my boombox in the background.

I’m not so sure why it was so special, but I always loved watching her move… the way she confidently carried herself and even how she manipulated her little fingers when she used the knife to cut her favorite whole bran bakery muffin in half… and even though she was fully covered in insulated jeans, boots, a long sleeve shirt and an insulated thermal vest, she was still the most alluring and exciting woman in the entire universe to me!

And it was that unique memory that triggered thoughts of another one of my most favorite after Christmas activities!  I gave up on New Years Resolutions along time ago, but over the years since, have gotten into the habit of taking the time to listen to the Lord for special words and or “Catch Phrases” during the concluding days of December, in order to help frame the course of my EXPETATIONS for the soon coming NEW YEAR.

The scripture from Isaiah 9:6 that we have been looking at throughout this December, has definitely gotten me focused on the miraculous nature of God.  If you recall, the Prophet, in announcing the coming of the Savior, declared to the Israelites in Judah,

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”

In last weekend’s Christmas blog, we discussed how Jesus’s name of “WONDERFUL” or “WONDER-FILLED” can also be defined in the old Hebrew as “MIRACLE-FILLED!”  Therefore, we could simply say in today’s modern English, that Jesus, the manifested presence of the one of whom Isaiah prophesied as Savior… and the truth of His Word… is FILLED with MIRACLES!

E.W. Kenyon is his book “The Wonderful Name of Jesus” wisely wrote that

“When REASON takes the place of the MIRACULOUS, Christianity loses its VIRILITY, FASCINATION, and FRUITFULNESS.”

Dictionary.com defines the word “VIRILITY” in this context, as Christianity’s “character, vigor or spirit and its power of procreation”, and the word “FASCINATION,” as Christianity’s “ability to irresistibly draw the attention and interest of someone.”

So… without miracles, Christianity is just another dead religion, instead of the living, breathing and life-changing relationship that we have in our daily lives with Jesus Christ.

I realized as I thought about all of this and pondered the quickly approaching NEW YEAR of 2025… that ALL the EXPECTATIONS that I have for each and every NEW YEAR… always include the anticipation of a MIRACLE… or two… or more!

How About You?

If MIRACLES are the VIRILITY of my faith in Christ and the fascinating POWER that irresistibly draws the attention of others… then I WANT to have MIRACLES active in my life!

Wouldn’t You Agree?

Have a fun, safe and sound New Years.  We are FINALLY forecast to have some cold but SUNNY weather for the end of 2024 and the beginning of 2025!

… and EXPECT MIRACLES to come ALIVE in 2025!