Good Gifts

"Hi Mom!  Have you been watching the news on TV today?"  Our son Darren's voice sounded happy.

Glad to hear from him, but wondering what TV news could possibly make anyone happy, I smiled into the phone and answered, "No, I haven't. What's up?"

"Someone's going around to K-Mart stores and paying off people's lay-away charges", he replied.  Then he added in his teasing, fun-loving way, "Ask me how I know."

"Okay," I said, humoring him, "How do you know?"

"Because someone just paid off our lay-away charges at K-Mart!"  Darren was jubilant.

I gasped. "What? Now that's something new; what a wonderful thing for someone to do especially at Christmas time!"

"You know, Mom," Darren said, "I just feel so blessed by God through the actions of this person, whoever he/she was. I pray God will bless them a  hundred-fold for their generosity!  And even though our lay-away was not a huge sum of money, just that act of kindness blessed us so much!"

I rejoiced with our son as we praised God together over the phone.

This morning as I was doing my hair, I thought again about the good news Darren brought to me yesterday.  Suddenly a scripture came to mind from Matthew 7, and I thought about the Christmas gifts I was buying for our children and grandchildren.

I thanked God for being the wonderful Father He is and for the wonderful words of Jesus.  He promised, "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.  Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?  If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him!  So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets."  (Matthew 7: 7-12, NIV)

God is not a scrooge, or a grinch, nor does He give grudgingly.  How do I know?  Because He told us not to be that way!  God is extravagantly generous. He gave His only begotten Son for us, to die in our place, after He came to earth as a tiny baby so many years ago.  He came as the Son of Man, one of us, but without sin.  He lived a perfect life, and never once gave in to Satan's temptations.  In taking our place, He kept the Law perfectly, meeting God's standard of perfection.  Then God put all our sin on Him on the cross, and He became sin for us and paid the penalty for transgressing God's holiness.  He died, was buried, but then on the third day, God raised Him back to life again!  Alleluia!  He ascended back into heaven where He prays for us.  What extravagant love!  And all who believe in what Jesus did for them personally, and declare Him to be their Savior and Lord, are promised eternal life.  What a GIFT!  Have you received yours yet?  If not, today is the day: just ask Him.  He's waiting to give you the gift of the assurance of eternal life with Him forever.  What more could anyone want for Christmas?

Copyright © 2011 Elaine Beachy

It's Party Time!

I love Christmas time, don't you? It's good for us to celebrate and party together with friends and family, to do something out of our ordinary routine. As we decorate the outside of our homes with lights and turn them on at night, it speaks a message that Jesus is the light shining in a dark world. As we give gifts to one another, we are reminded of the gift God gave us when He sent Jesus to earth as a new-born baby to grow up and die for our sins. As people who have been made right with God, we have much to celebrate!

If you're like me and hosting a party, maybe you could use some ideas.

Have a progressive party.  Plan for party guests to meet at host number one's house for appetizers, then travel to host number two's house for soup or salad, then on to the third host's house for the main course, and finally to a fourth host's home for coffee and dessert. You may even want to end up at a fifth host's home to play games. As they say, variety is the spice of life! :o)

If you're hosting a party in your home, have each guest/couple bring a dish or finger food to share. You provide drinks, dinnerware and some fun activities.

As guests arrive, give each a name tag you've prepared that says, "Hello, my name is ________." Then below that write the words, "Ask me about...." and have them write down an interest they have. It's a good mixer and conversation starter especially in a group where guests don't know each other that well.

During dinner, ask guests to share a personal testimony, or how God has used them to help someone else. Encourage one another to love and good deeds, as Scripture says.

After dinner, play some party games together. Friends that play together stay together, I say. One fun game is the "Right-Left Game", and can be found here: http://www.santalady.com/xmasgame/leftright.html. You will need a wrapped gift to pass around for this one.

Another party game idea is give each guest a pencil and a sheet of paper with the words "Merry Christmas" printed at the top. Set a timer for 3 minutes and have each guest see who can make the most words from the letters in those words. Use each letter only as many times as they occur in "Merry Christmas". (For example, you can only use 2 "m's" in a word, because there are only 2 "m's" in the title words.) You can decide whether you want to allow proper names. The guest with the most words gets a small wrapped gift.

You may also want to put each guest's name in a hat and have random drawings to win small prizes too.

After reading this post, how many times does the word "party" appear? If you said "9", you're just fine!

Copyright © 2011 Elaine Beachy

Book Update December 14, 2011

Over this past weekend I completed the first stage of typesetting changes with my publisher, Wine Press.  The cost for the typesetting changes was $29, plus $1 for each change I wanted to make.  Every author has to undergo this process with them.  If  I have more changes in round two, it will cost me $2 per change.  So obviously, it was imperative that I get it right this time!  It was a tedious task, requiring hours of work.  Wine Press typesetters require the author to fill out an "Action Required" spread sheet, in a very specific way.  To make changes in the text, I had to type in the page number of my galley sheet, the line on that sheet, then type in which line of which paragraph the change will occur.  Then I had to be specific and word changes correctly so they are clear. 

For example, one change I wanted to make was in this sentence: "They twitched their noses at the wonderful smell of dandelion pancakes and warm honey coming from Mother's rabbit kitchen."  I wanted to change it to say "Mother rabbit's kitchen".  So on the spread sheet, I had to type: " Page #21, line 5, 5th line of 1st paragraph: Delete the apostrophe and letter "s" after the word "Mother"; place an apostrophe and letter "s" after the word "rabbit".  I had 34 changes I wanted to make, even after all the months of work, writing, reading, re-reading, and editing.  There are just things you miss.  I had been to my writer's conference in August since I first submitted this manuscript, and I received permission to make changes then, too. I had learned a lot, and my eye caught more mistakes.  But I saw over the weekend I still had missed some.  An author's eyes can easily miss things in a familiar text.  That's why professional editors are needed; they provide a new set of eyes. :o)

Even though it was nerve-racking, I am grateful for the opportunity to correct errors along the way so my book will be a high-quality book, reflecting the message of the book itself.

I am now at step #12 in the publishing process that I listed on my post of November 25.  After the second stage of typesetting and author reviews, there will be a proofread edit by another professional, followed by a font (lettering style) upgrade.  When I approve that, I will have a printer-ready file with I must again read and approve.  Then the book goes to print!  Yay!

Yesterday I received my web page design from Wine Press for approval, which I gave.  They are now making the web page operational.  I will get 30 minutes of training from them in the operation of the site.

One of these days, you'll see an update that my book is ready for purchase on my website and elsewhere!

Copyright © 2011 Elaine Beachy

Low Battery Signals

It always happens at night.  Don't ask me why--I can't explain it.  Just when you're in deep sleep, a shrieking be- ee-ee-ep rudely awakens you.  This is followed by shorter beeps at persistent regular intervals.  I'm talking, of course, about your smoke detector's low battery signal. 

It wouldn't be so bad if you could find the offender that is emitting the shrill, nerve-jarring sound.  By the time you finish your detective work, you are disgusted that smoke detectors don't come with a specially colored flashing light on them so you can easily spot and arrest the culprit.

My husband and I lived this scenario last night at 3:30 a.m.  I was awakened before he was, and I thought maybe I could just try to go back to sleep.  No dice.  He soon awoke too, and we had to get up and take care of business.  When we finally got back to bed at 4:00 a.m., I began to think about the words, "low battery signals".

I believe we can have personal low battery signals in our spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical lives.  Maybe the beep isn't very loud at first, and maybe others hear the sound before we're even aware of it.  We may have a short temper, be irritable or depressed, carry a chip on our shoulder, etc, and others hear it loud and clear.  Since our whole being is interrelated as spirit, soul, and body, what are some ways we can guard against personal low battery signals?  Here are some of my thoughts:

• Spiritual batteries:  Stay in intimate daily fellowship with God.
• Emotional batteries:  Forgive those who have hurt us; let peace rule our heart.
• Mental batteries:  Feed our mind on good things (Philippians 4:8).  Check what is coming out of our mouth.  "Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks", Scripture says in Matthew 12:34-37.
• Physical batteries:  Don't do too much; slow down and don't "sweat the small stuff".  Love ourselves in a healthy way so we can love our neighbor properly.  God's Word says we are to "love our neighbor as ourselves". When the body is too tired, it affects how we think and relate to people and even God.  Learn to say "no" to some things others may desire us to do; take care of God's temple that houses our spirit.

Especially at this time of year when we think of all we want to do: the cleaning, the baking, the gift-buying, etc, it's important to perhaps choose a few things and do them with joy and gladness.  The Word says that whatever we do, we should do it heartily, as unto the Lord, and not out of compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

Are you running low on well-being?  Do you need to change your batteries?  God will help you find which one needs changing. 

Don't ask me why -- I can't explain it.  He may even tell you at night when you're sleeping.

Copyright © 2011 Elaine Beachy

The Joy of Music

Who has not been touched in the deepest recesses of the soul by the joy and power of music?  Whether at a wedding, funeral, party, or worshipping the Lord our God, music plays a huge part of our lives.  A composer writes musical notes that give expression to the feelings of the soul as an author gives expression to thoughts and feelings by writing words on a page. 

You can use music to create an atmosphere you want in the home, and even influence the behavior of your children.  Right now I'm listening to Handel's Messiah with the London Phiharmonic Orchestra and choir as I sit here writing this post.  I love to play it every Christmas because it exalts Jesus, the Savior of the world, and offers praise to Him, the Great Conquering King.  Who doesn't  just love the "Hallelujah Chorus"?

Good music plays such an important part in the conditioning of the soul.  It can soothe when distressed and lift up when depressed.  I love the joyful feelings of celebration lively music brings.  The Bible has a lot to say about music:  Psalm 33:2-3 says "Praise the Lord with the harp; make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre.  Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy." (NIV)  God loves music, and we are made in His image; so it just stands to reason we would like it, too.  God loves it when we celebrate His goodness.

Yesterday morning my husband and I enjoyed our church's Christmas concert, and in the evening we attended Westfield High's Christmas musical to hear our granddaughter Alissa, 14, play the bassoon in the High School band.  (She was awesome, by the way!)  :o)  I enjoyed hearing all those instruments blend together to make a symphony.  Did you ever wonder when musical instruments first appeared on earth?  I am intrigued by Genesis 4:20 that says, "His brother's name was Jubal; he was the father of all who play the harp and flute." (NIV)  I wonder if we get the word "jubilation" from Jubal's name.  (He was from Cain's family line, by the way.)

Saturday I went shopping in the Manssas Mall.  I made a quick purchase in Penneys, then headed for Bath and Body Works.  On my return trip, I intended to hurry to my car and run some more errands.  Suddenly, I was stopped by the most beautiful sound coming from the middle of a crowd that had gathered in the middle of the mall outside Penneys.  I walked over to see the attraction, and what I saw totally delighted my senses.  I just had to stop, listen, and watch for awhile.  I want to share with you a YouTube video of Jamie Turner playing glass music, and hope you experience the same delight I did.  Click on this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4mX6C_qlDc&feature=related

Copyright © 2011 Elaine Beachy

The Gift of Friendship

Sometimes you just need something out of the ordinary, something different from the sameness of day-to-day living, if you know what I mean.  You know what a blessing the joy of celebrating together with friends can be.  I had the privilege of such an event this week, and I'd like to share that part of my day with you.

On Friday, my former Bible study group met by invitation at the home of my friend Sahar.  The Lord has blessed her and her husband with this gorgeous, spacious house in a gated community in the quiet countryside.  Her home is beautiful!

We shared good-natured teasing, lots of laughter, good food, fellowship and prayer.  Miss Patty shared her enthusiasm for her business in Zumba exercise and fitness classes.  I gave an update on my book being published.  Others shared needs and concerns about their mates, children and grandchildren. During our time of sharing prayer requests and testimonies, my daughter Deb told of meeting a mom at Westfield High School during a meeting for the school's gymnastics team.

Deb noticed this mom sitting across the room kind of by herself, and their eyes met. Deb's heart felt quickened, so she motioned for her to come over. They sat together during the meeting and discovered they don't live far from each other, and made plans to take turns driving their daughters to practice.

Shortly afterward, when Deb was driving the girls to practice, she had her radio tuned to the usual Christian station.  The new girl asked, "Are you people Christians too?"

Deb was so excited, and after she got home, she called the girl's mother and they had a good chat.  My daugther said how she was so blessed by the new Christian friend the Lord brought into her life, and looks forward to other "divine connections" God has for her.

After we prayed together, we did what is termed a "Chinese gift exchange" that was loads of fun.  Everyone had brought a wrapped gift, up to $10 in value.  Somebody made numbered slips of paper equal to the number of guests, folded them in half, and each guest took one.  The person with  #1 chose a gift first, opened it, and set it on her lap.  The person with #2 went next, and could either choose #1's gift, or choose a new one from the pile.  If  #1 lost her gift to #2, she could go back and choose another gift, and so on.  For more on how the game is played, here is a link: http://www.zianet.com/ebear/chinese.html .

Next,we pulled up extra chairs and crowded around a table in the kitchen area and snacked on veggies and all sorts of goodies while we talked and laughed some more.  We parceled out food to send home with one another. The Lord's blessing was very evident by the spirit of loving unity that was present.

Yes, godly friendship is refreshing and uplifting and must be nurtured and encouraged. "Someone who has friends must himself be friendly, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother."  (Proverbs 18:24)  A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity, says Proverbs 17:17.  We all need friends to believe in us, encourage us, pray for us, and help us along the rough spots in our earthly journey.  Even Jesus needed friends.  Of the twelve disciples, only three were His close friends; and even those three, along with all the rest, fled from Him in His hour of trial because they were afraid.  He knows what it feels like to be despised, rejected, misunderstood, and forsaken.  He is the best Friend one could ever have.  He will never leave us or forsake us.

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved."  John 3:16-17 (New King James version of the Bible)

Friendship is a wonderful gift we can both give and receive at the same time!  How's that for an ideal, out-of-this-world Christmas gift?

Copyright © 2011 Elaine Beachy

The Shoe Box (part 4)

                               The Shoe Box, by Elaine Beachy
                                     continued from part 3


Biff felt a lump come to his throat. He looked down at his plate full of good food and slowly pushed the rice around with his fork.

"You have no toys to play with, or books to read," Mother added. There are no churches. You have never even heard about God, or about Jesus coming to earth to die for our sins so we could be forgiven and live with God forever."

Father continued, "But then one day a truck comes into your village, and someone hands each of you a booklet and a shoe box gift-wrapped in pretty paper. He tells you the booklet says God loves you and has a good plan for your life. You tear the package open. Inside there is a coloring book, crayons, a toy, a washcloth and bar of soap, a toothbrush, comb and some clothes."

"Wow," Biff said, "I like that part."

"That's some of what Samaritan's Purse does," Mother explained. "This catalog is full of ways to help others have clean water, food, clothes, schools, churches, and many other things that will make their lives better."

"God tells us it's more blesed to give than to receive," Father said. "The shoe box gift idea is part of Operation Christmas Child."

"Can we make a shoe box?" Biff asked. "I can give some of my money from my savings bank upstairs." For a moment he wished he hadn't said it, but he knew Dad was right. He'd be more blessed to give than receive.

"I'll give some of my money too," Becka said.

"I was hoping you'd want to. It'll be fun," Mother replied with a smile.

"What do we do first?" Biff wondered.

"I'll go online to http://www.samaritanspurse.org/ and see how to prepare a shoe box gift and where to drop it off," Father said. "I'll print out the list of suggested items, then we'll all go to Mart World to shop for them."

Mother stood up from the table and gave Biff and Becka a  hug. "Your father and I are so glad you want to share with those who have almost nothing."

"Put some pretty Christmas wrapping paper on our list for Mart World too," Becka said.

"I'll get the shoe box my new tennis shoes came in." Biff ran to his room to get it. His thoughts were filled with wondering what some child would do when he got the shoe box gift they'd be sending. Somehow having a new bike didn't seem so important anymore. His old one would still do just fine.

Copyright © 2011 Elaine Beachy

The Shoe Box (part 3)

                                  The Shoe Box, by Elaine Beachy
                                        continued from part 2                                 

Father rabbit came home from work and hung his hard hat on a hook. "Did I hear someone mention me?"

Biff and Becka ran to their dad and hugged him. "We're getting our Christmas list ready, Dad," Becka spoke up quickly.

"Yeah, we're going to have a really good Christmas this year, huh, Dad?" Maybe we'll even each get four presents." Biff gave his father a big smile. "I really, really need a new bike, Dad. My old one looks ugly; it's scratched up and the fender's bent. The seat is ripped, too."

Father saw the catalog in Mother's hand. "Oh, it's Samaritan's Purse. What a great idea for gift-giving," Father said, as he reached for the catalog.

Becka frowned. "What would we want from that catalog?" she asked.

Samaritan's Purse. It sounded to Biff like somebody who had a purse wanted something from them. He hurried to show Dad the bike in the Christmas catalog. "Clancy next door got a new bike for his birthday, Dad, and I really want this one for Christmas," Biff urged.

As the family ate dinner together, they discussed Christmas. Father looked at Biff and Becka. "Let's play a pretend game, okay?"

"Oh goody, I love games!" Becka took a big bite of orange-glazed carrots.

"Let's pretend you live in Cambodia," Father said. "You never had Christmas because you didn't know there was a Christmas. No presents. The water you have to drink is muddy and filthy. There's no place to take a shower, and food is hard to find or pay for. You have  no shoes and only a ragged cloth to cover part of your body. I have no job. Mother is sick, and there are no hospitals or doctors, except for a witch doctor."

A look of alarm spread across Becka's face. "I don't like this game, Dad," she said.

                                  to be continued . . .

Copyright © 2011 Elaine Beachy

The Shoe Box (part 2)

                                    The Shoe Box, by Elaine Beachy,
                                          continued from part 1
   

Nine year old Biff, and Becka, age eight, were young rabbits who lived with their mother and father in a small house under a row of tall oak trees at 86 Oak Tree Lane on Mr. Fletcher's farm in Catlett, Virginia. What an adventurous year they'd had. They also had more than their share of trouble and didn't always see eye to eye. Like today. They'd argued over who had done the most work raking leaves, and who should get extra allowance that week.

"You don't need a new doll, Becka." Biff used his elbow to push Becka away. "You just want a big doll because Cousin Alice has one. You can wait until I'm done with the catalog. I'm the oldest, so I should get it first."

"Give me that catalog, Biff," Mother commanded.

Biff handed her the catalog.

"If you two don't stop arguing, I'll put it away and neither of you will see it today." Mother looked them in the eye. "Sit at the kitchen table and you can both look at it together."

When they obeyed, Mother handed the catalog to them.

"I just love Christmas; I can't wait to see what I will get on Christmas morning," Becka said. "I'm the happiest rabbit in our neighborhood."

"I hope I get a new bike for Christmas. Now there's a beaut. It's my favorite color, too -- red with silver stripes." Biff pointed to the picture in the catalog.

Mother sorted the mail. "Junk pile, keep pile; junk pile, keep . . .  Look at this, children." She showed them a Samaritan's Purse Gift Catalog.

"Wow, two catalogs at once. Yippee!" Becka quickly reached for it, then frowned and looked closer. What kind of catalog is this? And why is there a picture on the cover of a kid holding a bowl of rice?"

"This is a special catalog that shows how we can help people in many different ways in other countries," explained Mother. "Your dad will be glad to see it."

                                     to be continued . . .

Copyright © 2011 Elaine Beachy

The Shoe Box (part 1)

Johnese Burtram, Director of our Northern Virginia Christian Writer's Fellowship, asked group members to submit some material for an "Advent Reflections" booklet she's putting together. I thought it would be fun to post on my blog a short story I wrote and submitted. The characters are the same ones from my books I am writing. 

I plan to post the story here in four installments.  Maybe you'll want your children to read it too, or read it to the younger ones. 

                                                         The Shoe Box

                                                      by Elaine Beachy

"Give it to me -- I saw it first." Becka pulled on one of Biff's long ears and made a grab for the Christmas catalog in his hand.

 Biff wondered if his sister Becka couldn't see.  Clearly he had it first.  He was not about to give up the prized Wish Book he held in his hand.  He stuck out his tongue at her and made a grab for her fluffy tail.

"Ha, missed me."  Becka tried to grab the catalog again.

Biff spun away.  He slammed the mailbox shut and took off running to the house, with Becka right on his heels.

"Mom, Biff is being mean to me . . ."
    
Biff and Becka ran into the kitchen.

"Watch where you're going."  Mother rabbit frowned and held up both hands as the two adventurers almost ran into her.  Mother gave a big sigh and looked at them.  "What are you two arguing about now?"  She reached over the kitchen sink, dusted flour off her hands and took the rest of the mail from Biff.

"The new Christmas catalog came in the mail, and I had it first," Biff stated.  "I want to look for a new bike for Christmas.  My old one is scratched and bent."

Becka tried to reach for the catalog.  "I want a big doll with lots of clothes and her own bed.  Let me look!"  Becka let out a wail.  "Mom, he's not giving it to me. . ."

                                                                       to be continued

Copyright © 2011 Elaine Beachy