Caroling 2015

Do you go Christmas Caroling? We have gone caroling a variety of places.  It is an old fashioned tradition but I am glad it still happens today.

We have caroled in the back of a truck while sitting on hay bales in Montana. Often this occurred in VERY cold weather.

We have caroled in New Mexico in weather that seemed almost balmy compared to Montana.

Wyoming caroling can be really cold, especially if the wind is doing its Wyoming thing.  

No matter when or where we have gone caroling, it is a nice tradition. It is one of those Christmas things that spreads cheer without involving shopping. We generally focus on singing to people who are sick or shut in. It is a feel good activity.

Last night was our annual caroling with our church group.  Mike and I took our granddaughters along, making it even more of an adventure. Buckling and unbuckling them from their carseats, plopping on hats and slipping on four mittens at each stop got a bit hectic. It is possible I got a little careless with it. I would like to tell you that Elise put her own hat on here, but sadly, it was me.

Cordelia is absolutely darling when we carol. I have explained to her that a lot of older people in nursing homes don't get to see kids much and that it makes them happy to see them. She also knew they sometimes want to hold their hands or touch their faces. Cordelia takes her "job" quite seriously! 

At one such stop a lady came up and wanted to hug Cordelia, holding her arms open as invitation. Cordelia went right to her!. The hug went on rather long and the lady just kept holding on to her. I took Cordelia's hand and extracted her from the situation and walked her over to greet a few other people but when the first lady wanted more hugging, Cordy willingly went right back to her embrace. I was so proud of her! 

At a few of the nursing homes Cordelia didn't even wait for an invitation. After our songs she just walked among the people and told them, "Merry Christmas." 

Elise was a lot more reserved but she joined in on the songs she knew, rang her little bells and made people smile. She got pretty tired and sometimes laid down on the floor or buried her face in my hair as I held her, but it didn't matter. She was adorable. She was NOT reserved in the vehicle between stops. She shared her opinions freely and sang "Go Tell it on the Mountain", her favorite song, many times over.

It was a good night.

These photos were at our last stop. Don't they look like they've had fun? 

Yep, a good night.

Time With the Girls

Yesterday I went shopping at Goodwill with Maria, Cordelia and Elise. It was a bonus event for me, having been released from my work day a bit early. I love, love, love going just about anywhere with those girls.

When we arrived at Goodwill I made some comment about a tradition Cordelia and I have developed. That led to a bit of discussion about what the word "tradition" meant. Cordelia wants to know and understand EVERYTHING. Her mother was the same way!

So, what is our Goodwill tradition? Well, this particular Goodwill has an upper and a lower level. They have two long ramps that go between the two levels. I get Cordy into a shopping cart and head down one of the ramps. All the way down I act as though I've lost control of the shopping cart and let go for a second or two. Of course I always have my hands ready to grab if it rolls near the wall and she is never actually frightened. However, there are a lot of squeals and giggles and Cordy makes happy noises as well.

THEN, we carry on a tradition Maria started with Cordy when she was quite little. It is brilliant! She taught Cordy early on that some things are to be enjoyed for just a short time. In this case, we go by the bin of toys and she chooses one that she gets to play with while we continue to shop. She understands right from the beginning that we aren't buying that toy but it gives her something to enjoy while we look at things that might bore her, such as uniform scrubs for me.

Yesterday she chose a stuffed monkey she named, Mrs. Monkey.






















At one point I heard Cordy tell Mrs. Monkey that she was hurting her feelings. I asked what Mrs. Monkey said and Cordelia informed me that Mrs. Monkey had said she didn't like Cordy. They worked it out, though, and all was well.

 I also had some good times bouncing Elise around the store. She has such a lovely little personality. Although contentment seemed rather elusive to her the first months of her life, she is down right fun now, easy to please and ever so loving and snuggly.















I didn't get a photo of her yesterday but I'll share some from last week's trip to the mall.

And then, when we were driving back to their house, Cordy said, "Grandma! Do you know about Jesus?!"







It was just a couple of hours at the end of my day but it sure made me feel happy.

Baptism

This week our church secretary sent out an e-mail to congregation members to let us know there is a young boy who is getting baptized tomorrow. To Christians, baptism is a very big deal, a very happy big deal. At our church, if we know about it ahead of time, we do something special.

First of all, there are men in our congregation who make these beautiful baptismal chests.

Isn't that pretty? I know they try to keep ahead of the demand as it would be rather tough to whip one of these beauties out at the last moment. I don't know how long this has been the tradition in this congregation, but I think it is really special.

The rest of us bring gifts, then, to place in the chest. When we arrive at church tomorrow one of these chests will be right up front. As people arrive we will see some of them going up front to deposit a gift for the young boy who is getting baptized.  At the end of the service he and his family may gather around the chest for photographs, marking the special occasion. When they go home tomorrow, the chest and gifts go with them. Won't that be a special reminder to him, perhaps a lifelong reminder, of the day he was baptized?

Baptism is done many different ways within Christian Churches. Some of the differences are based on traditions. For example, giving this baptismal chest and gifts is a tradition within our congregation. It isn't something we've read about in the Bible; it is just something we do to celebrate a joyful event. Some of the differences are based on varying theological understandings of Biblical accounts of baptism.  This accounts for such differences as sprinkling versus immersion and infant versus someone old enough to make the decision for themselves.  Mike and I spent hours and hours discussing these differences, even when we were dating, as we come from different denominational backgrounds. 

Most Christians agree, though, that baptism is very important and very special. I've heard baptism compared to adoption. People have said that the day you are baptized is the day you are adopted into God's family, the day you become a Child of God. It isn't quite that simple, I suppose, given that we believe everything, including ourselves, belongs to God in the first place. However, I think it is a fairly good way to explain baptism to someone who is new to Christianity.

I am not a theologian. Although raised in the church, I have never attended a Bible College or Seminary. I do have a theologian in residence as my husband has both a Bible College and Seminary degree. As I write this post, he is sitting right here in the same room with me, easily accessible. However, I am recklessly tackling this subject without his help. As far as he knows, I am furiously typing out cute granddaughter stories. So, if you landed here by googling "baptism" and were hoping for some deep theological insights, you may be disappointed.  I can tell you a few things, though.

Baptism is done in obedience to God's Word. That is to say, the Bible tells us we should do this so we do.  

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Matthew 28:19 (NIV) 

That is one of the verses that tells us to do it. To be baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit (we'll talk about the Trinity another day) is a command. We who are disciples of Christ, meaning His followers, want to do this out of obedience. We don't do it in secret, either. We want others to know that we are His followers.

“But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” I Corinthians 6:11 (NIV) 

Baptism is also a washing away of our sin. Do people sin even after they are baptized? Yes, of course. With our human understanding of time you may think we are to be baptized over and over again, each time we sin. Nope. As children of God we are able to repent and claim this forgiveness of sin over and over and over. I would think that must get so tedious for God, but his love for us is big enough to handle it.

Baptism points to the fact that we are to die to ourselves. Our will is no longer paramount. It is so hard to remember and to live this way, but Christians really do want God's will to be what matters, not our own. We love our Lord and he loves us. HIS love is so pure, so complete, we are overwhelmed by it. Dying to ourselves is not a sad thing, it is a great thing. This next verse means a lot to me.  

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”Galatians 2:20 (NIV)  

My firm belief is that as a baptized child of God, I have Christ living within me. What could be better than that? This is a great heritage to claim!

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Blessings for My Grandchildren

Thank you for the positive reactions to my jewelry tradition idea.  And yes, EJN, I'd be honored if you used the idea.  I'm sure I'm not the only grandma to do such a thing.

Let me tell you my favorite idea!  OK, it isn't original at all.  Bible stories mention blessings being given to children.  While I'm not sure if my idea of a blessing is quite what they were doing,  I decided I wanted to do a blessing.  I am not smooth enough to do it spontaneously so I planned ahead and wrote it all out.  I carried it around in my purse for weeks so that I'd have it with me for the birth.  Even though I had it memorized, I read it off the paper to be certain I got it exactly right.

Nearly three years ago, moments after Cordelia's birth, I spoke (actually cried) these words...

May the Lord come near to you and call you his own.

May he give you a sure heart and a kind spirit.

May you always know him as your source of strength.

I wrote out a copy for her baby book and it is my intention to cross-stitch it for her someday.

On Tuesday, when Elise was so new she was still steaming (not really), I spoke this blessing for her...

May God shelter you with mercy and wrap you in love.

May he pour into you both courage and compassion.

May you always trust him to light your path and be your power.

On both days I traced the cross on each girl's forehead.  If anyone wants to copy this plan, go for it.  If you have trouble getting started, try reading scripture.  I found inspiration from the Psalms as well as other passages.  I didn't directly use any particular Bible verse but maybe you'd like to.  Also, is there any reason this couldn't be done for a birthday or any other special day?  It doesn't have to be on the day of birth.  I'd love to hear your thoughts or ideas of ways to incorporate blessings.

I took about a thousand photos this week, but this one is my favorite.  Maria was so glad to be reunited with Cordelia after being separated from her during the last part of labor and the sweet sisters were having their first face-to-face.  Although Daddy isn't in the photo, he was just to the side of his girls.

People, it just doesn't get any better than this.