Lauren Sparks

The Sparks Notes

A Weary World Rejoices…and Grace and Truth Link Up

by 26 Comments

A coronavirus holiday season lacks in the festive department for this pseudo-elf, and my teenager prefers not to do too much with the family.  That is my state of the situation address.  But I tried my best to “Christmas” (if I may use it as a verb), which included WAY more cheesy holiday movies and shows than usual – 15+ in 22 days.  I won’t bore you with all the titles but you can ask me if you want recommendations.  I will tell you that if you like the Hallmark-type flicks, Midnight at the Magnolia on Netflix is really a New Year’s movie.   You should put on your agenda this week.

 

The sweet hubs and I took our Shelby to THREE drive thru events.  This seems to be everyone’s solution for distancing.  Two were forgettable, while the one put on by the Dallas Children’s Theater delighted us.

 

My Allie’s high school jazz choir delivered singing Christmas cards (in the form of front yard caroling) as a fundraiser for two of the four weekends this month.  We hired them one night and invited neighbors to come outside for a melodious and socially distanced treat.  A good friend of Allie’s invited her to see her dance in The Nutcracker while Chuck and I went to an outdoor version of the classic with friends at Lake Grapevine!  Our school also managed to put on a safe Winter Choir concert for us to witness the culmination of a semester’s work.  Allie sang with two choirs and performed a solo rendition of “White Christmas”.  It always thrills me to hear my songbird perform. To watch and listen, click here. 

 

I managed to watch a couple of non-Holiday related things.  The King’s Speech, Joy and the Netflix series Away fascinated and entertained us.  I will warn you ahead of time that the streaming giant opted not to bring Away back for a second season, but the one is worth watching anyway.  And we actually went to the theater to see Honest Thief and a free preview Premiere of WW84 (that’s Wonder Woman 1984 if you haven’t been waiting with baited breath for this one like me).  If you enjoy Wonder Woman at all – SEE THIS.  And watch for the fun surprise cameo.  My only complaint is that when she is supposed to be sick, weak and tired, Gal Gadot still looks better than 99.9% of us.  I guess that’s part of the “wonder” of this woman.

 

My teenager finished up her exams just in time for our son and 4 littles to descend on us for a few days.  Chaos and fun and festive activities ensued.  My parents, sisters and families and brother-in-law’s family came to see us and the out of town guests in the front yard with masks.  Boy will I be thankful when we don’t have to be so careful or so brief.  As I write this, we have just canceled our plans to attend Christmas Eve service at church, and a road trip to spend a couple of days with my in-laws.  My husband and one daughter tested positive for Covid.  Merry Christmas to us.

 

To change gears a little, I see the title of this blog post everywhere right now.  Most of us relate to this lyric from “O Holy Night” to some extent.  This month, and this year, included good moments, milestones and celebrations.  But also more bad moments, grief and tragedy than I sometimes thought I could endure.  Nights filled with tears of grief are far from “silent”, and I see a lot chaos when “Away in a Manger” says things are “calm and bright”.  But the words of my favorite carol explain how we can rejoice even though we feel weary:

Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
Till He appear’d and the soul felt its worth.

We make mistakes and sin against our creator.  But because Jesus came here and was born in that smelly barn, we have worth and can know our worth.  God found us not just worthy of creating, but worthy of saving – worthy of love and relationship with Him – worthy of sending His only son to die in our place.  What a sacrifice.  What a Savior!

 

We find a “thrill of hope” that He came and that He will come back for those who love Him.  And I can hardly contain myself when I think of what He will usher in when He comes again.

Truly He taught us to love one another;
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother;
And in His name all oppression shall cease.

We don’t carry out His laws perfectly here, which is why peace can feel so elusive.  But one day, He promises to set all things right.  I can’t stop the grateful tears now anticipating this (although there probably is some fatigue and disappointment mingled in those tears).  But even here, even in 2020, trusting in Him and believing that all He says is true can break our chains and fill us with a love and peace like no other.  This is my “Grown Up Christmas List” for us all.  Better yet, this is my prayer.  That you rejoice in Christ on this day and all the rest.

 

Merry Christmas,

And now for this week’s featured post!

 

Donna from Serenity in Suffering wrote a post that beautifully encapsulates the theme of my month end review.  When You are too Weary to Rejoice speaks to the heaviness I feel right now, but offers hope, encouragement and even prescriptions for overcoming that weariness.  Thank you, Donna.

 

 

Grace and Truth_Rules

1. Share 1 or 2 of your most recent CHRISTIAN LIVING posts. (No DIY, crafts, recipes, or inappropriate articles.) All links are randomly sorted.

2. Comment on 1 or 2 other links. Grace & Truth linkup encourages community.

3. Every host features one entry from the previous week. To be featured, include this button or link back here on your post (mandatory to be featured, but not to participate).

 

Grace Truth_Button

 

Grace and Truth_Meet Hosts

We encourage you to follow our hosts on their blogs or social media.

MAREE DEE – Embracing the Unexpected
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

HEATHER HART & VALERIE RIESE – Candidly Christian
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

LAUREN SPARKS
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

LISA BURGESS – Lisa notes
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

Now Let’s Link Up!

 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Sharing is caring! If you liked this post, do me the huge honor of using the buttons below to share it to your favorite social media accounts. And if you want to get these essays emailed to you once a week, subscribe!  Lastly, my posts may contain affiliate links and I earn from qualifying purchases. If you buy anything from one of these links, I will receive a few pennies to help offset the cost of this website at no additional charge to you. Thank you in advance for your help.

 

To find some great places where I might be sharing this post, click here.

Your 2020 Holiday Gathering Doesn’t Have to Be a Whoopin’ (That’s Texan for Drag)

by 10 Comments

Raise your hand if you used Zoom for a family or friend gathering this year.  Yeah, me too.  I’m super thankful for this technology in 2020 – I’m even teaching yoga classes this way.  But after the initial excitement of “being together” and catching up a bit comes the awkward silence.  Please tell me it’s not just MY family that searches for something else to say.  We miss each other and don’t want to “end session” yet, but what else can we talk about?

 

Maybe due to safety concerns and travel restrictions you are staring down a Christmas “celebration” with the same few people you holed up with for months.   You haven’t gone anywhere or done anything significant, so you wonder what you can talk about!  How can you keep from vegging out in front of the TV (although Christmas movies are a delight ) and staring at your phones for the entirety of the break?  I found exactly what will make 2020 gatherings, whether live or online, more fun and more meaningful.

 

I asked my fellow blogger and author Sue Donaldson where she got the idea to write conversation starters.  Here is her response:

I created them because I’ve found that when we meet together it can be a waste of time if we don’t get to really know each other. It began when I invited believers and non-believers together at the same table. I ask a general question, and follow with a little bit deeper one.  Then we go around the room, each person answering the questions. We end up connecting–laughing or crying or both– as we find commonalities in our stories. We become more empathic as we hear how someone has struggled or is in the midst of struggle. Asking the right question brings understanding which leads to compassion. 

When my husband and I first married, we invited two of Mark’s colleagues and their wives for dinner. I was the insecure, younger Dr’s wife. But I asked the men to answer: “Why did you choose medicine?” and the women, “Why did you say ‘yes’ to your husband’s proposal?”.  The evening went swimmingly. Nowadays, I pray in advance of my event and ask God for the right questions for the particular group. One such evening was so incredibly meaningful as the women answered the two questions: “What did you want to be when you were little when you grew up?” (gales of laughter) and “Who are you becoming right now?” (some tears, tons of compassion – as two were divorcing and didn’t’ know who they were anymore).  This was, again, a mixed group with women on both sides of the Gospel. One such gal said afterwards, “This was so good” (I had just met her at the gym) and I replied, “I’ve found that women are lonely.” And she said, “I’m lonely.”   We now walk every week together. God uses such times as friendships are built, and community deepened. 
This Thanksgiving, we did it a little differently.  My brother Steve has my Convo starters (the digital one – which is nice because it’s easy to make copies of the pages and cut into strips)- he copied three questions and stapled them together and passed them around to their guests. They had a choice to answer just one of three. I decided to try it out and had my middle daughter pick two questions on strips of paper and staple them together and each guest pick a “set” to answer.    We went around the circle between turkey and pie and heard some great stories and got to know one another better. We are still talking about what we heard! Convo starters empower the shy person and they keep the talkative person on track!
The purpose of community is to grow our faith, as well as introduce God to the unbeliever. Convo starters enable both.

 

Conversation starters aren’t a new thing, but this one feels fresh.  The author mixes fun topics with questions that encourage storytelling and sharing.  Whether you order Say Something Special (available in digital form if you need it sooner than Amazon can deliver) or come up with your own, don’t just “hope” for a fun and meaningful celebration.  Plan for it!

 

And now for this week’s featured post.

 

I love Sarah Geringer’s Advent series.  This week she linked An Advent Mindset:  How Zechariah’s Shift in Thinking Will Inspire You, but I recommend you go back and read last week’s too and subscribe to Sarah’s blog to make sure you get the rest!

Grace and Truth_Rules

1. Share 1 or 2 of your most recent CHRISTIAN LIVING posts. (No DIY, crafts, recipes, or inappropriate articles.) All links are randomly sorted.

2. Comment on 1 or 2 other links. Grace & Truth linkup encourages community.

3. Every host features one entry from the previous week. To be featured, include this button or link back here on your post (mandatory to be featured, but not to participate).

Grace Truth_Button

Grace and Truth_Meet Hosts

We encourage you to follow our hosts on their blogs or social media.

MAREE DEE – Embracing the Unexpected
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

HEATHER HART & VALERIE RIESE – Candidly Christian
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

LAUREN SPARKS
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

LISA BURGESS – Lisa notes
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

Now Let’s Link Up!

 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Sharing is caring! If you liked this post, do me the huge honor of using the buttons below to share it to your favorite social media accounts. And if you want to get these essays emailed to you once a week, subscribe!

To find some great places where I might be sharing this post, click here.

 

 

Categories

Archives