Shh....

Shh....Can you hear it?
Christmas is coming...
Take a moment and Remember?

The sounds of Christmas- what do they sound like to you?

I hear the verse in Psalms about being still and knowing He is God...He will be exalted.

Shh....Can you hear it?

There's a reason for hope...a promise for peace.

Close your eyes...slow down...and open them again.

Stand up and praise the LORD your God, who is from everlasting to everlasting. "Blessed be your glorious name, and may it be exalted above all blessing and praise. You alone are the LORD. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you. Nehemiah 9:5-6

Our family has been in Texas spending time with my family after the death of my grandmother. One of the things we had the opportunity to do was to go to a small town outside of Austin and visit "Bethlehem". A whole city block was remade into a mini walled city- complete with animals, characters, shops and other buildings. My children met a shepherd who was trying to find a child, they almost got run over by Roman soldiers as they dragged people to jail because they couldn't pay their taxes, they saw how ropes were made, and visited a carpenter making shepherd staffs. We saw an Inn and Parker asked the innkeeper if there was any more room, but sadly there was none. He invited us in to see for ourselves and we saw the little rooms upstairs that would hold 10-11 people. And in the bustle of the crowd, and the noise of the characters and those of us visiting...there was a reverence.

Can you hear it? The sound of twinkling stars, silent nights, and animals? As we came out of the top of the Inn and headed down some stars- we saw a bright star shining.

And around the corner- there was the re-enactment of the Mary, Joseph and Baby Jesus. They were back in a cave...and all was quiet.

So profound.

Matthew 1:22-23
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:"The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"- which means, "God with us."

"God with us". He is with us, all around us, moving in us, working through us; with us! Wow!

Raney Grace is still trying to work through the death of our Grana. Last night she came to my mother and asked, "So, Grana is in Heaven with God, right?" My mother replied, "yes, that's right Raney." Then Raney went on to her conclusion, which seemed to make things right inside her brain...."So....that means Jesus is babysitting all of us still left here on earth."

Praise God for being with us in Heaven and on Earth, Thank you God for your precious son Jesus- whose birth and death changed our options forever...and thank you for 'babysitting' us.

May Jesus, his birth and all that it means, resonate in our lives this Season and throughout the year.

Shhh...can you hear it? Can you hear Him?

My Grana

My Grana.  August 11,1933- December 6, 2007.

My grandmother was only 39 when I was born...I was her first grandchild.  Her presence in my life was such a constant throughout my years.  I am very close to my mother and consider her one of my best friends...Grana was an extension of that relationship and I loved it every time the three of us were together.  One of my favorite examples of this relationship between the three of us was when I was in college and my boyfriend and I broke up.  My mother and grandmother got in the car and traveled to my apartment in Waco, Texas.  They spent time with me so I wouldn't have to be alone and we went shopping...and laughed.  They came just for the day...just for me.

Some of my memories:

Going to her house and sleeping in the same bed with her all my young life until she remarried. She had satin pillow cases and the softest pillows.  I remember counting to 100 for the first lying in her bed and I remember being rather put out after she married Herb and I didn't get to sleep with her any longer.

I remember spending the night with her on Friday nights and we would have pizza and ice cream...and then we would get up on Saturday and clean her house since Saturday mornings were for cleaning.

I remember her staying with us when my parents were out of town.  My brother Greg took her dentures so we could see her without her teeth.  She chased him around trying to get her teeth- laughing the whole time.

I remember her going out dancing...and me being so proud I had this 'happening' Grandmother.

Heading to church each Sunday and knowing that one of would get to sit next to Grana was so very special.  I can still hear her voice singing...and picture sharing the hymnal with her.

Later on- I spent the weekend with her after I was married and visited her church in Taylor with her.  It was so much fun to share time with her friends, going to her Sunday School class. The ladies and the men would split up after large group...the Sunday I happened to be visiting- the subject in the Marriage and Family Series was Sex.  Grana and I got such a kick out me going to my grandmother's class to talk about Sex...it was rather interesting!

Grana was always available to me.  She was willing to talk about anything...and always shared her wisdom with me.  But...she was also willing to learn from me as well.  I just loved her.  

I am so lucky to have spent time with her.  I am so blessed to have shared spiritual things with her.  I am so inspired by her continual faith and perseverance in the midst of the many trials she went through.

Her first husband dropped dead of a heart attack when my mother was a Senior in High school, her father died and then her twin sister died a painful death of cancer all before she was 40.  

 Her life was not easy...and it was not perfect...but she looked to the cross of Christ and her Savior Jesus to carry her through and to provide meaning to her life.

In these last few months she spent time looking back...and her only regret was that she didn't share Jesus enough- even though there are many who will tell you that they know Jesus more because of her words, her love, and her example.

Grana's light is not gone even though she is no longer with us.  Her light has just spread out through the lives she touched shining brighter and sharing the light given to her through Jesus.

A verse from Proverbs 3 was part of one of my recent daily devotions.  I ended up reading the whole chapter and could hear Grana saying those words to me.  I recommend reading it when you have a chance.

And Grana...way up in Heaven- I am so glad you are with your Father in Heaven, having a party with all of those you loved and who loved you.

I will miss you. xoxo Julie

Sleep Tight

The 'going to bed' process at our house can take a while. Most of the time, I am just trying to 'get er done' because I am tired and have been with my children for a while. I like to read them books for many reasons two of which are that I love books and it also cuts down on their talking time. We tend to have to limit Parker's questions to two...otherwise, we would be there all night.

Todd uses the time to spend moments with our children that they love. They get to have 'conversations' with dad.

The other night...I just had to mute the TV so I could listen. I heard Todd go into Raney's room and I heard him ask her, "What do you want to talk about?"

She answered, "Jesus!"

I could hear the smile in Todd's voice as he told her that he loves to talk about Jesus. Their conversation consisted of what Jesus did on the cross and why, and how God can save her from her scary dreams and other such stuff.

Then Todd went into Katherine's room. Katherine wanted to talk about Grana (my grandmother who is slowly leaving this world) and heaven. Katherine wanted to know about heaven and how Grana knew she was going and what would it be like. Grana has been longing to join her family in Heaven...even as those of us left here still grieve her absence of mind if not her body. Her prescence is already missed. And Katherine is trying to figure it all out.

Parker was last. Now, Parker likes to have long drawn out conversations. Sometimes it is because he wants bedtime to not come but other times it is just because he is so very curious. Parker wanted to hear about mountain climbing and different mountains that Todd knows about.

And then...I heard this song on the radio. Joseph's lullaby by Mercy Me. A video of the song is below:


It is such a sweet song...and as I listened to the words and sentiment expressed, I pictured my children's sweet faces...and I thought about Joseph and Mary watching the baby Jesus sleeping.

And I thought about God watching over all his children as we sleep.

And I as I sit here crying...I picture our Father in Heaven watching over my grandmother sleeping...and slipping to join Him in Heaven.

Sleep tight Grana.