This Christmas, Renew Your Faith and Rekindle the Christmas Story

by Anita S. Lane

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! It’s also the perfect time to share with others why the birth of Christ is significant to us as Christians. At a time in American Society when “Merry Christmas” is being eliminated as a greeting and replaced with “Happy Holidays” or “Seasons Greetings,” it’s important that we let our light shine.

Allow me to remind you why we celebrate this holiday…Just over 2000 years ago, before there were silver bells and mistletoe, there was a baby born in the town of Bethlehem. He was conceived of the Holy Spirit by a virgin. He was born in a manager because there was no room in any of the local inns. His birth was so special that a star in the sky led the way to Him. Wise men traveled from the east bringing the Jesus child priceless gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Shepherd boys came to witness first hand what had been told to them by an angel and returned to their lands rejoicing, praising God, and sharing the good news with everyone along their path. Herod the King was curious about this new King of the Jews and sought to destroy Him.

Why all the fuss over a little baby boy? He wasn’t just any baby boy. The angel declared to Mary and Joseph that He would be called the Son of God. His name would be Jesus, for “He shall save His people from their sins,” and “of His kingdom there will be no end.” All these were pretty powerful statements concerning a baby born in a manger.

But this was the way God intended it. You see, a long time ago God our Heavenly Father and creator of the universe wanted a family—offspring that was created in His image with whom He could fellowship. But when Adam and Eve disobeyed and betrayed God in the Garden of Eden, the tight-knit fellowship they had with God was broken. Their sin put a wedge in the relationship that would have to be restored if God were to once again enjoy the level of intimacy He had with His children.

More than anything, God wanted to redeem His children. Yet under the law God had established, forgiveness of sin required a pure and holy sacrifice. So God created the perfect plan. He would offer up His only begotten Son—fully God, yet fully man.

Jesus was not only born miraculously, but He lived a miraculous life. He walked this earth fulfilling to-the-letter, over 300 prophecies. He lived a sin-free life in constant communion with our Heavenly Father. He went about His life doing good—bringing healing and restoration to all those who were broken-hearted and “poor” or lacking—in spirit, in health, and in wealth. He didn’t live for Himself but lived a life dedicated to His God-given purpose. “For this purpose was the Son of God manifested; that He might destroy the works of the evil one.” And that’s what Jesus did. (I John 3:8)

When the innocent man Jesus was crucified on the cross even the earth shook in response. The sky darkened and the rocks rent. Jesus descended to hell but couldn’t stay because He was blameless—thus defeating, death, Satan and the grave. Three days later Jesus ascended to Heaven to once again be with His Heavenly Father. “Mission accomplished!” Jesus was the pure and holy sacrifice needed to restore God’s children to Himself. Now God can again enjoy the intimacy He once knew with His children if we just believe.

You see, salvation like everything else in this life is really not “about us” it’s about God. God created us and loves us so dearly that He arranged to pay the price so that we could be redeemed. Because of Jesus we have life that is abundant, joy that is unspeakable and peace that passes all understanding. We have assurance of our salvation, life worth living and power to overcome evil. We have the power to live as Jesus lived—compassionately and sacrificially. Mark 6:34 tells us that when Jesus saw the multitude, He was “moved with compassion toward them because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and He began to teach them many things.” Jesus lived His life to help others find their purpose and their way back to God. We are to do the same.

So why should we be excited and eager to share the good news of Christ’s birth? Because truly his birth, life, death and resurrection is one incredible Christmas story that truly needs to be told. Never on the face of the earth was there a man who was born of a virgin, lived a life of miracles, crucified to death, resurrected and still alive today. In no other religion is there a “savior,” “prophet,” or “religious leader” whose remains are not in a grave or tomb somewhere.

So when someone asks you, or if you choose to volunteer “why you celebrate Christmas,” perhaps you can quote John 3:16 with renewed meaning and depth. For it most certainly is true—“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

May these words have renewed meaning for you and life-transforming power to those who hear and believe for the first time.

Merry Christmas!

Copyright ©2004 by Anita S. Lane

Untidy House? You May be the Victim of Magnet Syndrome

by Anita S. Lane

Without warning, a strange phenomenon is occurring in your home. Your personal items are turning up in the most bizarre places. You discover your keys in the clothes hamper. Your mobile phone finds its way into the trash can. Your baby’s bottles are vanishing. The video tapes you tucked neatly under the entertainment center are disappearing and magically reappearing in odd places all across the first floor of your home. If these things are happening to you, you may be the victim of magnet syndrome.

The American Heritage dictionary defines “syndrome” as “a complex of symptoms indicating the existence of an undesirable condition or quality.” If you’ve experienced any of the symptoms I’ve described above there is a great possibility that you may also have the undesirable condition of an untidy home. Blame it on the “Magnet.”

I currently have an 11 month-old magnet named Daniel. Yet I guess it’s unfair to single him out because each child of mine was a magnet between the stage of crawling and age two.

If I may refresh your memory, an ordinary magnet is an “object that is surrounded by a magnetic field and that has the property, either natural or induced, of attracting iron or steel.” Well, my child—and perhaps yours too—is actually a super magnet whose magnetic field attracts not only iron and steel, but plastic, cloth, aluminum, and just about anything his little hands can carry. Did I mention I found an ink pen in the VCR?

Now I am not a clean freak. However, I believe in being neat. And my mother raised me to live out the expression “everything has its place.” So since keeping my house squeaky clean isn’t a very attainable goal for me right now, it is sometimes frustrating that I can’t even keep things as neat as I’d like.

If you don’t have children you may not understand the complexity of the magnet syndrome. It requires constant picking up, putting away, reorganizing, and the ultimate—search and rescue mission. “Okay, everybody, let’s find the baby’s pacifier!” Magnet syndrome requires as much energy by the adults in the home as it does the Magnet perpetrator. The only difference is the Magnet doesn’t need energy for much else. I have to perform magnet patrol as well as cook, clean, wash, feed, bathe, clothe, change diapers, etc. Plan on stopping over for an unexpected visit? Please give me 20 minutes notice!

So what’s the solution? If you are certain that you are a victim of magnet syndrome, try this five-step program: 1) Repeat after me, “It’s not my fault.” It took me a while to admit that my short-comings as a person weren’t to blame for infant shoes in the diaper caddy; 2) Expect to perform—and build in time for—magnet patrol as part of your daily duties. Unless you’re able to put your entire home on lock-down and have no loose parts, your little Magnet will transfer items from one place to another in your home—the problem is you never know where the items may end up. So create “clean up breaks” every couple of hours or so to avoid the dreaded mass clean up before bed time; 3) Get the entire family involved in magnet patrol. I’ve trained my five and three year-olds to stay on the look out for misplaced items and put them back in their place. They know they are responsible for helping clean up their baby brother’s mess; 4) Make sure none of the loose items in your home are particularly harmful—or at least toxic. Granted, just about anything can be harmful if used the wrong way, but make sure the toxins are locked away or better yet, eliminated from your home all together; and 5) Learn to enjoy your little magnet. My Magnet just loves being able to grasp objects, study them and walk them to another, more desirable location. It’s one of the signs that he’s growing up and it makes him proud. He’ll snatch up your empty mug and smile all the way to the toy box. So, relax. Take it easy and get that camera ready. You’re bound to capture a “Kodak moment.”

Copyright ©2004 by Anita S. Lane

No Time for Cookies

by Anita S. Lane

We used to make. Now we just bake.

I recently saw a commercial with the image of a loving mother and child cuddled around the oven placing pre-made, pre-cut holiday cookies on a baking sheet. The voiceover makes the statement, “it's not about baking cookies, it's about creating holiday memories.”

That’s true. Holiday cookies are a special part of the holiday season. But whatever happened to flour, sugar, eggs and mixing bowls? I guess the end result is the same, but for some reason I was particularly struck by imagery in this commercial. I don’t know why. After all, I use pre-made cookie dough all the time.

Yet for some reason I felt slightly convicted while watching this commercial. Sure, the experience for mom and child was probably warm & fuzzy and it was quality time—all five minutes of it. However, I began to think of all the lessons my children miss out on when I don’t take the time to make—not just bake, cookies.

Making cookies from scratch is an opportunity to practice valuable life skills with a child—assembling ingredients, reading, counting, measuring, mixing, as well as patience—because it takes longer than the five minutes it takes to place pre-cut cookies on a baking sheet.

So why don’t we take the time to bake cookies from scratch? I’m concerned that not only are most of us too busy, but we no longer see the value in investing that sort of quality time with our children. After helping with homework, there’s not much “quality time” to go around, right?

Maybe. But this holiday season let’s give it a try. Dust off the mixer, pull out the aprons, and take a little extra time to make some special holiday cookies—or even a cake! It may not become an every week affair, but you just might rekindle the joy that comes from baking from scratch—the kind of joy we experienced while baking with our moms and grandmas. Remember licking the bowl? You’ll enjoy a little extra quality time and create lasting memories for your children as well—the kind of memories you only get when you take the time to make, and not just bake.

Copyright ©2004 by Anita S. Lane

Our Children Need Us to Highlight Real Priorities

by Anita S. Lane

While on a recent visit to the hair salon, a mother requested to have the heat turned down on her son’s hair dryer. “It’s hot, but I also think it’s the fumes. He has very bad allergies,” she said. I glanced over at the boy sitting uneasily on a stack of yellow pages under the adult sized hair dryer. “Fumes?” I thought to myself. What could they possibly be doing to this child’s hair? And how old is he?

Well as it turned out, the boy was nine years old and he was having his hair professionally cut and highlighted. Not to mention he was at the same salon I struggle to get to in regular intervals.

Maybe it’s a sign of the times or just a sign of my age—but I recall being in high school before requesting highlights—and even then, they came in a box. But this was a boy. A very young boy, demanding to look like those spike-haired, highlighted boy band members—perhaps to impress his fourth grade female friends. Wait, do boys even like girls at that age?

Nevertheless, I asked the mom whose idea it was and she said, “his.” She must have seen the dumbfounded expression on my face. She then said, “I look at it this way. It’s better that he care than not care at all.” It took me a moment but I think I got it. She meant it is better that he care about his hair and appearance than not care at all as is the case with some boys.

Excuse me for being old fashioned, but since when is it important for a nine year old boy to care that much for his hair and appearance? Especially to the extent that it requires his mother to voluntarily agitate his “bad” allergies as well as spend the family’s hard-earned dollars at a salon. And unless my hair stylist offers “kiddie rates” this boy’s mom kicked out about 100 bucks for his ‘do.’

Only time will tell what the future has for me, but it is my prayer that between school work, sports and family obligations that my three boys won’t have time for color treatments. And I really hope it just won’t be a priority for them.

However, I realize that we become what we see—just like we are what we eat. And it’s apparent the young boy at the salon has seen more than his share of images in pop culture that portray “cool” boys as those who color their hair.

I’m not opposed to hair coloring. I like my own hair highlighted. Yet somehow I can’t help but think we as parents must focus our time and energy on building the self esteem of our youngsters and affirming that their hair is perfect the way it is—in addition to trying to limit their over-exposure to popular media images.

This nine year-old boy has not even reached his pre-teen and teen years when puberty and self expression are in full bloom. What happens when he asks for colored contacts, regular visits to the tanning salon or even a little cosmetic surgery?

It’s important that we teach our children the value of accepting themselves for who God made them. They must know that God made them, loves them, and they are “just right” just the way they are. At some point, our children must learn to care more about God and their parents’ opinions of them than even their peers. And that value will only come when we as parents exert the time, energy and effort required to highlight life’s real priorities—and not just their hair.

Copyright ©2004 by Anita S. Lane

The Universal Perils of Pregnancy

by Anita S. Lane

If you’ve ever given birth to a child, you’ll probably identify with what I’m going to say. However you may be one of those pregnant ladies who loved every aspect of pregnancy and floated through with a glow on your face and pep in your wobbling step. But it was never like that for me. After discovering I was pregnant the very first time with our first child, the elation eventually wore off—yielding to the term I’ve dubbed the “perils of pregnancy.”

It’s probably sacrilegious to refer to anything related to the miracle of pregnancy and childbirth as “perilous,” but that’s just how I honestly feel sometimes.

By the time my eighth month rolls around, I find myself experiencing anew the challenges I’d experienced in each of my other pregnancies and saying—as though I’ve totally forgotten—“what’s going on with me?” Fortunately I have a very understanding husband. Now that I’m pregnant with our fourth child he reminds me of what I can expect. “Honey, you went through this the last time too. Just take it easy. Don’t be so hard on yourself,” he says.

Maybe the first trip to the OBGYN should include a note from the physician that says, “Warning! Pregnancy may include the following side effects/risks, including but not limited to: headaches, nausea, exhaustion, changes in taste buds, leg cramps, unusual cravings, round ligament pain, clumsiness, lower backaches, an aversion to stairs and the inability to tie one’s shoe.”

These things may seem minor. However, as the months progress I find myself increasingly frustrated with the little things are no longer little anymore. Staying awake and alert all day is one. Attempting to accomplish my daily to-do list is almost futile. I find myself thinking about all the things I want to do more than actually doing them.

And how about a simple trip to the grocery store? Well, it’s not so simple anymore when I have to stop and spend 15 minutes in the bathroom with my five, three and 11 month-old as well as walk the long isles of the new vast grocery “malls” Americans are so enamored with. By the time I finish shopping I’m ready to soak my feet and head for bed. My legs are tired, my back is hurting and my uterus feels like it is going to just fall from under me. But it’s not over yet, I still have to get all those groceries in and out of the car and into the house and put away while the baby waddles behind me crying for me to pick him up. Make that my last trip to the store for a full set of groceries until after the new baby! “You just give me the list. I’ll go,” my husband said in response to my agony.

While I pity myself over the little things I find a little comfort in the fact that it’s not just the obscure stay-at-home-mom dealing with these challenges. I recently saw Oscar award-winning actress, Catherine Zeta Jones in an interview attesting to the same challenges. “I couldn’t even tie my own shoe,” she says. “Honey, can you roll me over?” She says to husband-actor Michael Douglas. “And all I could see were these big jugs,” she goes on to say. Not to mention she gained 50 pounds. But she looks great. My 50 are still with me.

Nevertheless, I realize that what I experience everyday during these last waning moments of pregnancy is universal to women everywhere. While I may not enjoy every aspect of the journey I find comfort in that the journey will come to completion with a beautiful precious bundle whom I will love and cherish forever. And soon I will have once again forgotten all about the little inconveniences I experienced as a pregnant woman and look with joy upon my God-given precious gift.

Copyright ©2004 by Anita S. Lane