Nov 30, 2025 – Fog
Game day yesterday turned out to be a great day to start getting out the Christmas decorations. Because of my arm, and because I have so many (too many) boxes, I wasn’t going to put much out this year; however, Don sweetly (without even one frustrated sigh) carried all the boxes upstairs from the basement and then back down once I’d emptied them. Empty doesn’t mean all set up though. It seems like there are little piles of Christmas, on just about every surface, that need to be dispersed to where they will live for the next month or so. Don, like my father, would keep Christmas up past the New Year. I’m sort of ok with waiting ‘til New Year’s Day, but any time after Christmas Day, after the last of the gatherings are complete, I’m usually as ready to put things away as I was to get them out. I even have a present-wrapping station set up in the sunroom which adds a whole ‘nother level of messy clutter to the mix.
Some of this is indecision, but most of it is just a temporary limbo, as I get everything put in place. Some years I get it all handled in a day; but, most times, it’s several days if not longer. I have to adjust to some level of clutter and disarray and indecision and waiting, at least for a while, like I have to do in different seasons of life (school years, dating years, raising children, work issues, relationship issues, health issues, etc). But we also have to be able to recognize when we are wallowing, procrastinating, and avoiding so that we can pick up the pace (and the stuff) and move on through to a more settled (and healthier) season. The best way to do that is to lean on God through it all.
JC – “Let Me infuse My peace into your innermost being…. This is not something that you accomplish through self-discipline and willpower; it is opening yourself to receive My blessing…. In this age of independence, people find it hard to acknowledge their neediness. However, I have taken you along a path that has highlighted your need for Me: placing you in situations where your strengths were irrelevant and your weaknesses were glaringly evident…. You have realized that needing Me is the key to knowing Me intimately, which is the gift above all gifts.” Definitely my housekeeping and memorabilia management skills are not best handled by self-discipline and willpower. I need God to guide, strengthen, and inspire me (and maybe I need to again hire that organizer that Carrie got me one Christmas to help me declutter!)
Utmost – These last days (and probably through all of his Christian ministry) Chambers has been making such an interesting point; and, it’s not something that is new to the era I live in. He wrote this book almost 100 years ago. It likely has been an issue through all the years since the time of Christ. People tend to want to simplify Jesus’ life down to just being kind and caring towards everyone, which is important; but, that is not why He came to us as an infant and experienced all the trials of growing up into a man. He came to die in our place to save us from our sins. He is our Savior not just the nice guy in the neighborhood who helps whoever asks Him. Chambers writes, “The pietistic movements of to-day have none of the rugged reality of the New Testament about them; there is nothing about them that needs the death of Jesus Christ, all that is required is a pious atmosphere, and prayer and devotion…. There is no regeneration, no being born again into the Kingdom in which Christ lives, but only the idea that He is our Pattern. In the New Testament Jesus Christ is Savior long before He is Pattern.”
Shoulder pain woke me pretty early this morning; so, I got started on this blog, but had to pause to go to church. [Today’s “At The Movies” movie was Remember the Titans. Suuuuch a great movie and a great sermon around it about unity.] I fully intended to get back to the blog when we got home; but the gray rainy day and the drowsy effect that comes with turkey (brunch with Thanksgiving leftovers) easily talked me into a nap. When I got up just a bit ago, all I could see outside was white. No mountain in the distance, no buildings or roads in the valley below. Even the trees at the bottom of our property are barely visible. What a great day to have no where to go – and much to do (as I look at the pile of presents to wrap and the decorations to handle) – and plenty of Hallmark Christmas movies to keep me company. Like the fog though, I know it will clear eventually. I have to be willing to co-exist with the temporary disarray and lack of control in order to get to the other side and enjoy a season of Christmas decorations which evoke happy memories.
New p.124 – Luke 10:18-20 – “Jesus said, ‘I know. I saw Satan fall, a bolt of lightning out of the sky. See what I’ve given you? Safe passage as you walk on snakes and scorpions, and protection from every assault of the enemy. No one can put a hand on you. All the same, the great triumph is not in your authority over evil, but in God’s authority over you and presence within you. Not what you do for God but what God does for you – that’s the agenda for rejoicing.’ “ Slawson writes, “Just as we sleep peacefully night after night, never giving thought to those protecting our streets and our neighborhoods, we often go through our day oblivious to the presence and protection God has all around us. Jesus says this is the truth we should really celebrate.” Though I can’t see beyond the fog (and sometimes can’t see beyond my troubles), I feel safe in my home; and, though I don’t know all that is out there in the world, I feel safe in the arms of my Savior. He knows what is ahead for me and how best to lead me through life.
I just realized that I read Nov 29 in JC and Utmost. Rather than delete what I’ve already written, I’ll keep it and add today’s thoughts to the blog:
Utmost hits me between the eyes as I realize that I sometimes talk sort of negatively about myself, and my clutter. Chambers writes, “The way we continually talk about our own inability is an insult to the creator. The deploring of our own incompetence is a slander against God for having overlooked us…. Never bother your head as to whether what you say sounds humble before men or not, but always be humble before God, and let Him be all in all. There’s only one relationship that matters, and that is your personal relationship to a personal Redeemer and Lord. Let everything else go, but maintain that at all costs, and God will fulfill His purpose through your life. One individual life may be of priceless value to God’s purpose, and yours may be that life.” To be clear, when I talk about my clutter (and other weaknesses), I am not trying to say “poor, pitiful me” and garner sympathy for my shortcomings. I am trying to be relatable and to point others to God to find direction and comfort for their own neediness and weaknesses.
JC – “Problems are a part of life. They are inescapable: woven into the very fabric of this fallen world. You tend to go into problem-solving mode all too readily, acting as if you have the capacity to fix everything.” For sure I can’t fix the fog! But I can enjoy staying home and bringing order from the decoration chaos. Young continues speaking to us in her interpretation of God’s voice, “Do not let fixing things be your top priority…. Don’t weigh yourself down with responsibilities that are not your own. Instead, make your relationship with Me your primary concern…. Rather than trying to fix everything that comes to your attention, ask Me to show you what is truly important. Remember that you are en route to heaven, and let your problems fade in the Light of eternity.” I like that reminder. There are always plenty of things we could put on our plate to handle (and many times we claim them because of the onlookers), but we have to accept that our plates aren’t big enough to hold all that we see. What a relief to realize that not everything is as vitally urgent as we make it. It’s especially comforting to know we can release our concerns into God’s caring and capable hands.
