Christmas Musings with a dash of Chesterton

This Christmas was good, in all senses of the word. We put up a tall tree one week before Christmas (we ran out of time and had to buy it). I got all my shopping done 4 days before Christmas. We went caroling at a nursing home, and were blessed by those dear faces. We drank eggnog and hot cocoa. We lit candles for Advent, Dad read Christmas devotions. Mom read John Piper's The Innkeeper; and it really touched me again this year (I highly recommend it to you). We watched the most classic Christmas movie of all time, and a personal favorite, It's a Wonderful Life. We were blessed to have each of us here under one roof, together. But mostly, this Christmas, like every Christmas, and every day, was good because the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and God saw that it was good.

Since creation and hearts fell in the Garden of Eden so long ago, the world has spun upside-down. When the realization of the curse hit Adam and Eve, God spoke a Promise to the serpent, and to mankind. "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel." (Genesis 3:15)

From that time forward, God's people looked for the Promise. Abraham a caught glimpse of it in the stars when God promised that through him all the nations of the earth would be blessed. He saw it again with Issac as they stared at the ram caught in the thicket - God would provide. Moses looked for the Light and caught a glimpse of it in a bush that burned but was not consumed. He took off his sandals because he stood on holy ground. The Israelites wandered, looking for a place to call Home. With hangdog hearts, mankind stood condemned, "but the tide turns now at Bethlehem."*

The earth almost went to Hell. Instead, the greatest paradox of history, Heaven went to earth, and even further below. Christ, the God-man, was born in a dugout. "That is perhaps the mightiest of the mysteries of the cave. It is already apparent that though men are said to have looked for hell under the earth, in this case it is rather heaven that is under the earth."**

The stars parted, and God placed His foot on unholy ground. Finally, a war cry went out into the silent night, and the powers of darkness trembled. It was the cry of an infant. The shepherds came to see Him, the Good Shepherd, lying in a hay manger to become food for His sheep; to be the perfect Lamb, not caught in a thicket, but willingly offered for His people. The wise men sought true Wisdom and found it in a Child. Jesus had no place to lay His head, but He became a Home for us. Jesus had no sin, but He became sin for us, so we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

And that, my friends, is why Christmas is so good. To wrap up, I give you a Christmas poem more eloquent than my ramblings:

There fared a mother driven forth
Out of an inn to roam;
In the place where she was homeless
All men are at home.
The crazy stable close at hand,
With shaking timber and shifting sand,
Grew a stronger thing to abide and stand
Than the square stones of Rome.

For men are homesick in their homes,
And strangers under the sun,
And they lay their heads in a foreign land
Whenever the day is done.

Here we have battle and blazing eyes,
And chance and honour and high surprise,
But our homes are under miraculous skies
Where the yule tale was begun.

A child in a foul stable,
Where the beasts feed and foam;
Only where He was homeless
Are you and I at home;
We have hands that fashion and heads that know,
But our hearts we lost---how long ago!
In a place no chart nor ship can show
Under the sky's dome.

This world is wild as an old wife's tale,
And strange the plain things are,
The earth is enough and the air is enough
For our wonder and our war;
But our rest is as far as the fire-drake swings
And our peace is put in impossible things
Where clashed and thundered unthinkable wings
Round an incredible star.

To an open house in the evening
Home shall all men come,
To an older place than Eden
And a taller town than Rome.
To the end of the way of the wandering star,
To the things that cannot be and that are,
To the place where God was homeless
And all men are at home.

- By G.K. Chesterton

*Lyrics from This is War by Dustin Kensrue
**From G.K. Chesterton's book, "Everlasting Man", chapter titled "God in the Cave".

Dec. 10th: Jed's 5th Birthday

I hope Jed forgives me for blogging his birthday belated. :) It is hard to believe it was 5 years ago that we brought him home from the hospital...

It was December 10th, 2004. We were just about to go on our tradition of Christmas tree hunting in the mountains. The snow thickly blanketed the ground, perfect for snowmobiling to the forest. Bundled up against the -15 degree weather, Dad would drive 80 mph through the fields. It was just like flying. Then we would hike through creek bottoms looking for a worthy pine tree. We never found it, but one part of the tradition was complaining about how "Charlie Brown" it looked. We would each take 5 whacks with the hatchet till the tree broke the silence of the winter wonderland and crashed softly to the snow.

But just before we went tree hunting that year, Mom was feeling a little...hesitant to let us go. We all stared at her. Was she or wasn't she? Suddenly, she knew. Our tree-getting was postponed for little Jedidiah Wayne King. Dad quickly drove Mom an hour and half over the Chief Joseph mountain pass, dropped Mom off in time at the hospital, and came back to get the rest of us to await the arrival of another little brother.

It was so amazing to meet the new member of the family, fresh from the hands of God. Dad held Jed, and knelt down to let 1 2/3rds year old Will meet his brother. Will promptly pinched Jed's nose in what we assume was angst. Jed hollered back, and it was the start of a beautiful relationship. (They really are best friends now.)

So for his birthday this year, here's what we did:


At the water park.

Will and Jed - can't tell they're having a blast, can you? ;)


We had a party with just the fam. A very piratey party! Arrrr!

Captain Jed, terror of the seven seas and even the bath tub too. :)

Love this little guy! My favorite blond-haired blue-eyed 5 year old.

The Amazing Pirate Cake. Hannah made most of it, I contributed a modest amount. Definitely one cool cake for one sweet little boy!

Dear Santa

I'm not sending you a wish list, don't worry. I'm just thinking...

You've been around for a while. Every year, you come back and make an appearance. There are many songs written about you. Movies about you come out each December. I have fond associations of you. But I think that something that was once good has been led astray for a while now.



Once upon a time, in the 300s A.D., you lived in what is now Turkey. You were a real person, and your name was Nicholas. Back then, you knew the meaning of Christmas. You took Jesus' words to heart, spending your whole inheritance to care for the less fortunate. You suffered persecution and imprisonment by the Roman Emperor Diocletian for believing in a Babe lying in a manger. On Dec. 6th, 343, you died.



I'm sure that you wouldn't approve of your metamorphosis into Santa Clause since then. They really have ripped you out your context. Round and jolly, you help sell Coca-cola bottles this time of year. They say you make a list and check it twice to find out who's been naughty or nice. But...you're not omniscient or omnipresent. You're not even around anymore.


But, God is. And He has a naughty and nice list too. But on His list, everyone is naughty with a capital N. Nobody is good, no not one. No one, except One, that is. And thankfully, God gave His best Gift to naughty children like me. And children need to believe that much more than they need to believe you can fly around the world with reindeer, distributing gifts in a single night. Not to mention the absurd physics that would be involved. They need to know Who really knows when they are sleeping, and knows when they're awake.

Now don't get me wrong, I think giving gifts is definitely a good thing. It is legitimate to give and receive during Christmas for the simple reason that the Gift we received 2000 years ago was not just wrapping paper and a meaningless box. There was Something inside that Gift, and it gives meaning to all the ribbons, cookies, lights, stockings, eggnog, and traditions...even you, St. Nick, if you don't try to replace it. The birth of our Lord has made all the difference in the world. And that is worth celebrating!

"You shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins."
- Matthew 1:20-21

Merry Christmas!