Tree Talk

About 2 weeks ago, Linda at Second Cup of Coffee asked everyone to post photos of their Christmas tree and favorite ornaments.

Swamped with church directory work, I wasn't able to post mine in a timely fashion.

However, what's the point of a tree if you can't share it?

We have a very kinetic tree...it blinks, bubbles, spins and talks (if you push the right spot on Linus' stage...). So I tried a little video. It was about a minute and a half long, of exceptionally poor quality, but I thought I'd give it a try, as you could kinda get the gist of it.

And Blogger sat for over an hour trying to upload it without giving me a clue as to how it was progressing. So I gave up and will just have to make do with photos:


I didn't take a close up photo of it, but if you can see it, the star at the top is from My Sweet Baboo's childhood trees. Ain't that cool?

Bubble lights:




Our tree is full of personally significant ornaments. We decided long ago that whenever we took a trip, our souvenir would be an ornament for the tree. This one is from this year's trip to the Smoky Mountains:


This is the second year for us to have a cat in the house at Christmas. Last year, we skipped all the glass ornaments and spinners and other things likely to attract attention...we got some LED lights and some plastic balls to fill in the gaps.

It was a boring tree.

So, this year we got brave and decorated it *nearly* as we usually do; I did leave off some of the more fragile ornaments that we've had for 30 years, but by and large, this is our typical tree.

HOWEVER, this is not the tree of my dreams.

The tree of my dreams would have Cool Touch Frosted Globe lights on it. Surely someone out there remembers those lights...round bulbs, about 1 1/2" or so in diameter, in different colors, with what appeared to be ice crystals on the bulbs.

They were about the only lights my mother approved of, since they weren't supposed to get hot (unlike bubble lights, which we begged her to put on the tree each year) and so were less of a fire hazard. I thought they were goofy when I was a kid, but now...well, I'd sure like about 4 strings for my tree...but Google can't even find 'em.

Anyway, ideal lights aside, I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas...a wonderful time of celebrating our Saviour's birth.

Faithful Friday Faves: 2 Chronicles

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

Gee, if I don't hurry, I'll be late again! (as the clock chimes 11:30 PM)

See, I thought I'd just take the easy verse, 2 Chron. 7:14, as that is one of my favorite verses in the Bible. But, as I flipped to it, I had a feeling that I'd already discussed that verse...and, when I looked, I discovered I was right. I didn't really have anything new to say...so I started from scratch.

Sure enough, another verse caught my eye:
For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. - 2 Chron. 16:9a

God is looking for fully committed hearts.

It sounds so simple...live fully committed.

But, in all honesty, on my best days I may be about 75% committed. I don't know if I'm even aware of how much I have committed my heart to traditions, to social norms, to personal agenda and not to God. It slips in so insidiously.

But look at that promise! God looks for fully committed hearts: so He can give them strength. None of that other stuff can hold a candle to that. What personal strength do I get from traditions, or from our society, or from my own messed up thinking?

That stuff doesn't give strength...it drains it.

What a challenge...

Movie Musings: Voyage of the Dawn Treader

FOR NARNIA!!!!!!!

(I just had to get that out!)

If you've hung around Beer Lahai Roi very long, you know that I tend to be something of a literalist. If someone is gonna make a movie from a book I love,they jolly well better tell the same story the author originally wrote.

And I'll say straight up that the screenwriters for Dawn Treader pretty much took the major elements of the story C.S. Lewis wrote and mixed them up and put them on film in an almost unrecognizeable manner.

But they told the same story.

Unlike the producers of Prince Caspian, who changed the character of multiple characters, altered the basic motivations for the actions of those characters, and minimized the trustworthiness and the character of Aslan, all of which left me disappointed and rather wary of how the rest of the movies would be made.

But my hopes are up for the rest of the series...the question is, can they get the movies all made so that the growing kids are the proper ages? The Actor and I were talking about it; for the kids to be the right ages, they should shoot the films in this order:
Silver Chair (Eustace should only be a year or so older than he was in Dawn Treader)
Last Battle (Eustace and Jill should only be a year or so older than they were in Silver chair)
Magician's Nephew(Give the kids playing the Pevensies time to reach young adulthood)
Horse and His Boy - Pevensies are all young adults

But, of course, they should be released in the original order of the books:
Silver Chair
Horse and His Boy
Magician's Nephew
Last Battle

Just my opinion, of course.

Anyway, I left the theater happy. Whew.

Faithful Friday Faves - 1 Chronicles

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

The two books of Chronicles are always the true test of determination to any Biblical student who is steadfastly reading straight through the scripture; after having just covered the entire history of pre-exilic Israel/Judah, at 1 Chronicles 1:1 we go right back to Adam and Eve and begin the whole thing all over again, with extensive genealogies, focusing on the history of the southern kingdom of Judah. If you're actively studying it, there's great stuff there, but if you're just trying to wade through it...well, it can be a challenge.

But, for today, I'm going to focus on the key event of 1 Chronicles...David bringing the Ark to Jerusalem. It's certainly the central event, occupying chapters 12 - 15 out of the 29 chapters of 1 Chronicles.

I'm not going to go over the whole story; it's right there if you want to read it (and, as an aside, if you want an interesting character study, take note of the name 'Obed-Edom' and see what part he plays in the book of 1 Chronicles).

But I'm looking at the verse that jumps out at me right now...1 Chron. 15:13:
It was because you, the Levites, did not bring it up the first time that the LORD our God broke out in anger against us. We did not inquire of him how to do it in the prescribed way.

I'm remembering something that happened about 12 years ago...The Artist, being about 9 or 10, had a friend over from school on a warm day. I'd made sun tea, and The Artist decided they needed to have some to drink and poured two glass fulls.

When he saw the glasses, his friend protested that he didn't like tea.

However, The Artist was so sure of the deliciousness of sun tea that he assured his friend that this tea was good. So, the friend was a good sport and tried it.

Nope. He didn't like tea.

But The Artist was still not persuaded that anyone could dislike something he liked so much. "I know what will make it good!" he said...and proceeded to put about 4 spoonfuls of sugar into his buddy's already-sweetened tea. "There! Try that!" he said expectantly.

Of course, the friend still didn't like tea, and ultimately the whole glass was dumped...because the Artist thought he knew what his friend would like and didn't ask him what he wanted to drink.

I thought at the time how similar that was to the way many of us treat God...we believe we know instinctively what He would desire, and go about it without even an inquiry as to whether or not that fits His plan.

Oh, we're in good company...the Bible is full of stories of people who charged ahead without inquiring what God wanted. Sometimes the results were fatal, sometimes they were humiliating, but there were always consequences.

The take home lesson for me is that my instincts are not trustworthy...but God is always available for inquiry.

And it is so much less painful to inquire of Him first, and see Him smile, than to pour a glass of unwanted tea down the drain and start over.

Checkin' In

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

Gee, I didn't mean to be off line for so long...missed my Friday Faves post and everything! Last week was the annual state drama competition...and I did my annual mom-as-chaperone gig...saw some great drama, and even slept a bit. The Flute Player came home with a third place trophy for her duet scene from The Importance of Being Earnest, and both kids got medals for other short scene work. It was The Actor's last competition, which is a little bittersweet.

That means it's just three more for The Flute Player and me... it'll be her last one before we know it...and then I'll be done!

It is, however, rather amusing to find that my average hits per day has actually CLIMBED, despite the fact that I haven't posted anything new. I'm up to an average of 9 (yes, that is an increase of about 3!) per day now. People are stopping by last year's post about The Christmas Pickle. Too funny. Maybe one or two have even looked around a bit past the pickle post...

I do have some more meaty stuff to talk about; we had a guest speaker over the weekend at church and I've got some things percolating about that might make it to a post.

And I *will* get my pick from 1 Chronicles up on Friday. Can't believe I forgot that last week....

Faithful Friday Faves: 2 Kings

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi
This has turned into my weekly blog post...once the Really Big Project at work is wrapped up, maybe I'll have time to do some real blogging again...

But, at least I've got a topic to keep me updating at least weekly. This week's book is 2 Kings...the decline and fall of the northern kingdom of Israel, followed by the decline and deportation of the southern kingdom of Judah 135ish years later.

They rejected his decrees and the covenant he had made with their fathers and the warnings he had given them. They followed worthless idols and themselves became worthless. They imitated the nations around them although the LORD had ordered them, "Do not do as they do," and they did the things the LORD had forbidden them to do. - 2 Kings 17:15

A number of years ago, while we were still in our denominational church, the annual meeting of that denomination passed some resolutions concerning the roles of men and women in marriage. Typically, the press picked up part of the story and made a huge deal of the wording of the resolution as it pertained to women (they totally ignored the wording of the resolution as it pertained to men, instructing them to love their wives sacrificially as Christ loves the church). Taken out of context, it gave fodder to those who were looking for opportunities to be offended on behalf of modern women.

Despite the Biblical basis for the resolution, groups around the country decried it. Even evangelic Christians were offended, making statements to the effect of 'The world is different now; people should not be held to those standards."

Not taking any position on the wording of the resolution, because that's not my point, I was dumbfounded by the reaction of people who believed that the world sets the standard for the behavior of people who call themselves followers of Christ.

Imitating the people around them is what led to the downfall of the people God called His own; do we expect Him to allow His people to fall into that same pattern now?

Although our society is not quite as paganistic as the nations that surrounded Israel/Judah, there are certainly a number of things that vie for our time and attention and even our devotion.

Are we brave enough to confront the worthless idols that deceive us?

Am I brave enough to identify and confront the worthless idols that deceive me?

Faithful Friday Faves: 1 Kings

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

Do you see the scene in your imagination? It's the time of the evening sacrifice; the people had been standing around all day watching the priests of Baal throw themselves into a frenzy around a hacked-up bull on a pile of wood, but the only thing that had fallen on the sacrifice was no doubt a cloud of flies.

Then Elijah steps out and rebuilds the ancient altar, each stone a representation of the people who stood in front of him. He lays the wood, cuts up the bull and arranges it, then does something truly unexpected...he digs a trench around the altar and calls for water.

It's amazing that they managed to find 12 large jars of water in that prolonged drought, but the water came from somewhere and the sacrifice, the wood, the altar, and the ground were all drenched and the trench was full. Then Elijah stepped forward and prayed.

Then the fire of the LORD fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench. When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, 'The LORD, he is God! The LORD - he is God! - 1 Kings 18:38 - 39.

Would you have liked to have been there that day? I would've...every time I read one of the stories about God manifesting Himself to his people this way I get all chill bumpy. Can you imagine? Seeing something like that?

I've often wondered, 'God, why don't You manifest Yourself again to us? Show everyone that You're real?'

You know what the answer is?

He put *us* here to represent Him. To be the ones who manifest His presence everywhere we go.

What if everyone who calls him/herself a follower of Christ really and truly represented the heart of God on earth?

I honestly think it would be every bit as big a shock to the unbelieving world as the fire that incinerated Elijah's altar.
Imagine THAT...