The Little Drummer Boy

By Janet Morris Grimes –

I have this odd little quirk. Call it crazy. Call it focused. Call it annoying. Call it brilliant. Call it my attempt to slow down enough to absorb the message of something that matters.

I leave the television off, turn on my music, and listen to it on repeat. All. Day. Long.

It’s whatever I need to hear on a particular day. The music lays the foundation while the lyrics pierce my soul. I find it comforting Freeing.

Today, my song of choice was The Little Drummer Boy, by Jars of Clay.

I adored the television special as a child, until the part where the little lamb was run over by the ox cart. But later, as he is healed and dances to the music of the drummer boy, I melted. Every time.

Even back then, I recognized that this was the one true Christmas special that had nothing to do with Santa Claus, reindeer or misfit toys. It was the only one that focused on giving instead of getting, on Jesus instead of Santa, and on people instead of things.

Today, as I listened to the lyrics, minus the pa rum pa pum pums, I was fascinated by the simple message.

Come, they told me
A newborn King to see
Our finest gifts we bring
To lay before the King.
So to honor Him
When we come.

Little baby,
I am a poor boy, too.
I have no gift to bring
That’s fit to give the King

Shall I play for you?
On my drum?

Mary nodded
The ox and lamb kept time.
I played my drum for Him.
I played my best for Him.
Then, He smiled at me.

Me and my drum.

The Little Drummer Boy is a fictional story, but is still so very true.

All Jesus asks from us is whatever we have to offer. For this boy who was hurting, it was a song on a drum. Nothing more. Nothing less.

For me, it is my writing. It is all I have to offer, and the only way I know to give back to Him.

As the song says, “so to honor Him, we come…”

I will show up, bringing all that I have to offer.

And when He smiles at me?

I can think of no greater gift.

Me and my drum.

Pa rum pa pum pum.

Hiding the “Messy Stuff”

By Dawn Wilson –

Things are often not what they seem. Last Christmas, when I was crazy busy with writing, speaking, parties, and in between church and ministry events, I couldn’t keep up with my housework. I was frustrated no end! So I took some good advice from a friend.

I piled all the “messy stuff”—stacks of magazines, boxes of things to be sorted, bags of clothes I was filling for the Salvation Army—under a big colorful blanket in the corner of my living room. Then I pinned a sign on the blanket that read, “No peeking. Christmas wrapping in progress.”

I threw some stuffed shopping bags and bright wrapping paper under the blanket near the front of the pile for good effect (just in case someone did peak) and breathed a huge sigh of relief. No one would ever know.

The only problem is, my dog couldn’t read. With maddening timing, right in front of my unexpected company, dear Roscoe decided to pull the blanket across the living room. All my “messy stuff” was suddenly exposed.

In the same way, I’ve learned that the messy stuff in my heart isn’t securely under wraps either. Just when I think no one will find out about my sneaky habits—I’m a declared chocoholic; need I say more?—or other sin issues I think I’ve covered well, something happens and there it is, out in the open for all to see. And sometimes it’s ugly, stinky stuff.

It’s silly to think that no one knows. God sees everything. God knows everything. “‘Can anyone hide in secret places so that I cannot see him?’ declares the Lord. ‘Do not I fill heaven and earth?’ declares the Lord” (Jeremiah 23:24, ESV). There is nowhere we can run from His presence or hide our wayward, wicked plans (Psalm 139:7; Isaiah 29:15; Jeremiah 16:17).

God probably shakes His head at my silly attempts to hide my sins. “Oh my dear daughter,” He likely says, “You’re not kidding me. Now let’s quit this foolishness and take care of this right now.” He doesn’t condemn me—He always sees me in Christ—but neither does He let me remain in my sins. He calls me to agree with Him and commit to change. And sometimes, when I get stubborn, He deals with me to correct not only my original sin problem but also my foolish rebellion, “For the Lord disciplines the one He loves” (Hebrews 12:6, ESV).

Will I use the Christmas blanket again? Probably. It’s just such a great idea! But I’ll make sure Roscoe stays outside when company comes.

And I certainly don’t want to hide my “messy stuff” from my Creator. He can see through blankets, doors, buildings, everything, right into my heart. “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account” (Hebrews 4:13).

A Season of Joy

By Judy Davis –

Christmas, what a wonderful time of the year! I’ll never forget the memories of our older grandchildren celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. Each Christmas Eve I baked a cake and lit a candle as we all sang “Happy Birthday” to Jesus. After we finished singing, I read the Christmas Story.

As I read the Christmas story, I was captivated by the simple words that there was no room in the inn. On the morning our Lord was born, there was no room for Him. In many lives today, there is still no room for Him. The Jesus of the first Christmas is the Jesus of this Christmas. Christmas means that God is where you are with your needs. Whatever you are going through, the answer is and always will be Jesus Christ.

Billy Graham stated in his message “Christmas: God With Us,” that “many cynics will blame God for the troubles of the world. We should blame ourselves. We have a spiritual disease, and that disease is called sin. Until sin is conquered, the world will not be a better place in which to live.”

Christmas is more than tinsel and lights. It is more than gifts under the tree. Christmas is a joyous time to experience Christ, to have our needs met and help meet the needs of others.

I’ll never forget the Christmas when our younger grandson Connor started to open a present. He saw my little olive wood manger scene I bought in Bethlehem many years ago. He slowly picked up Baby Jesus, the manger, a donkey, and a camel, in his tiny hand. He laid down his gifts that were still wrapped and began to play with Baby Jesus.

It was not long before he ran to me and said, “Nana, where is Baby Jesus? I can’t find baby Jesus.” We began to look for Him under the rug, etc. We both got down on our hands and knees, crawling all over the living room searching for Jesus. “I found Him! I found him!” squeaked Connor. At that moment I thought of the verse, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these” (Matthew 19:14).

Jesus told his disciples not to keep Him from little children, He wants them to know and love Him. As we prepare our homes for this festive holiday let us also prepare our heart and make room for Christ in Christmas.

When the holidays seem hectic with all the shopping, gift-wrapping, decorating, baking, addressing Christmas cards, and cleaning house, take time to plan. Start early with a list. If you do, you can get ahead and be ready to enjoy this most wonderful time of the year.

The Gift

By Liz Cowen Furman –

My class went until 4:45 and getting back to the dorm in time for the 5 o’clock dinner bell was very important to this college freshman. If we went in right at five we got the best seats and a great show of the handsome young men as they came into the cafeteria for dinner. I cannot believe some of the things we did that year.

One afternoon while racing up the sidewalk to get back to the dorm in time, I looked up at the sound of a very large, very loud bird flying over my head. As I looked back down, he deposited a gift on the top of my head that ran down my forehead and cheeks. I was horrified! When the gals who were waiting for me to go in to dinner realized what had happened they burst into gales of laughter. I had to shower before I could go in so no show for me that day. Can you believe they went in without me?

Many years later, when I had children, we were waiting on the lawn of the Veteran’s Hospital for my Dad to come out. An eagle flew over our heads and dropped what looked like a gallon of the same gift the other bird had bestowed upon me. It reminded me of the present I had received that day back in the dorm. The boys and I laughed out loud, as I shared my story with them. We all agreed that it was a good thing it wasn’t an eagle flying over me that day. We mused over some poor driver buzzing along when blam right on their windshield…blindsided. That could be dangerous.

Isn’t it funny how things that happen to us in our lives years later become a great story? I make wedding cakes and I always tell the bride that I hope something goes wrong. Not a catastrophe or anything really bad, but if nothing out of the ordinary happens all they can say is “We got married.” How boring is that? After making all those wedding cakes, I could tell you some great stories. Candles catching things on fire, little ring bearers refusing to walk down the aisle, inebriated officiates that knock over lit candelabras …little things that at the time seem important and later just crack us up.

I read somewhere that you can tell a lot about a person by how they handle three things…tangled Christmas lights, a long queue at the store or a clerk’s mistake. I would be so bold to add; a bad referee at your child’s game, an attitudinal teenager or unfair treatment. I have failed on many occasions to shine the light of my Jesus into difficult situations but I am learning. I hope that before I go home to glory I can adopt an eternal perspective on current events or at least give it the “Will this matter in five years?” test. So next time those Christmas lights all tangled and put away badly stare you in the face, think of it as an opportunity to shine. Merry Christmas!

King Kong and the Gratitude Principle

By Connie Cavanaugh –

I walked into the chiropractor’s office for the first time last year. I had never been to a chiropractor because I didn’t think I needed one. I held off and held off not wanting to spend the money and finally one day my neck and back were in so much pain I was desperate.

I dragged myself into Dr. Kong’s office and waited dejectedly in the torture chamber. I had never met Dr. Kong even though he had been recommended to me. I was picturing a tiny diminutive Asian man who would gently palpate my boo-boos and say soothing words.

The door flew open and in charged a man who looked more like King Kong than Dr. Kong! He was well over six feet tall and his booming voice could bring down the walls of Jericho.

Before I even had a chance to tell him how sore I was he bellowed: “Tell me one good thing that happened to you today!”

He caught me with my mouth open. I was stunned. One good thing? The reason I was there was because I was in pain! And another bad thing was that it was costing me money! And he’s asking me for one good thing?

He waited, hands on hips like a Germanic conqueror from the Middle Ages.

Seriously! He really means this, I thought.

“Okay, here goes,” I said, hoping to buy some time. I really had to dig deep but finally I came up with something.

“The sun is shining.” Whew! Now maybe he’ll start gently massaging my sore neck.

“Great!” He hollered. “Tell me one more good thing.”

You’ve got to be kidding? It took me a few minutes to come up with one! Okay, maybe he’ll give me a gratitude discount or something if I play along so I tried again:

“My grandkids came over for tea and toast this morning in their PJs. I love having them live so close by.”

“How wonderful for you!” He shouted. “What’s one more?”

Good grief? When would this end? If I was paying him by the minute, he was racking up a bill without helping my problem!

Frustrated, I declared sarcastically:

“Only my neck and back hurt, the rest of me feels great.”

“Aaaahhhhh,” he said, more softly. “That’s wonderful that you feel so good other than this little problem with your neck and back. Let’s see what I can do to help you.”

He got me! I didn’t even realize it but when I walked in the door, I was drowning in self-pity, so focused on my sore neck and back. It was consuming me. I was already leafing through nursing home brochures, convinced I would be in a wheelchair before long and need a mechanical lift to go potty. Dr. Kong saw the look on my face and knew what I needed – a little gratitude to get me outside myself and open my eyes to all the blessings I still had.

Gratitude shifts your focus from what you’ve lost or what you lack to all the blessings you still have. Tom Brewster must understand this gratitude principle because he wrote a book entitled: ‪Only Paralyzed from the Neck Down‬. I haven’t read the book but what message does this title send? It tells me: My body doesn’t work but thank God I’ve still got a brain. I can think. I can smile. I can see. I can hear. I can laugh. I can kiss. I can smell. I can taste. Only paralyzed from the neck down. Gratitude changes everything.

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