Christmas Song Review

Christmas is pretty low-key around our house this year. I just didn't feel up to a lot of festivity this year, so the only decorations at our house are construction-paper projects by the boys and two strings of lights (one outside, one inside). The indoor lights went up Saturday morning at Sam's insistence. My brother and sister-in-law were coming for the afternoon, and Sam thought it important that we decorate for them.

The decorations are staying in the attic, but the Christmas CDs came down. I cannot get through December without them. One of my favorite single tunes is the final track on Mindy Smith's My Holiday album. It's called "Come Around" and feels very much like an anthem. In some ways, it's similar to the book I wrote about in my last post.

I would post the entire song here, but I think that might infringe on a copyright law. Here's a sample, supplemented by nice pics of my family.

Christmas Book Review

Come and See: A Christmas Story by Monica Mayper, ill. Stacey Schuett

We have several Christmas storybooks for kids, and this is by far one of my favorites. It tells the story of Jesus' birth by describing a sense of anticipation among everyone who came to the stable. It is poetic, full of appealing repetition. Each page is covered with rich, dusky images of people leaving the fields, coming out of their homes, going to meet Jesus.

"In the hills was sudden music

Come see

Come and see

The sheep and shepherds heard."

By the end, a village of people & animals are gathered outside the stable celebrating quietly, letting the baby sleep. It looks and sounds to me like a prayer for unity among all who follow Jesus.

"Shepherds, strangers

Travelers, townsfolk . . .

Quietly in the starlight

Come dance

Take hands and dance

We all begin to dance.

Around the sleeping baby

We all, together, dance."

Strepisode 1

Strepisode 1: Jude. He's been a little sick for the last day and half, so I was on the phone with a surgery resident this morning worrying we'd be sleeping at the hospital again tonight. Thankfully, no! Just a trip to the pediatrician, a screaming quick-strep test, and a trip to Target for antibiotics. Poor little guy! Poor mom and dad!

Stay tuned to see whether the network will pick up further strepisodes. We are in talks re: similar performances for other family members, but hoping the deal will fall through.

"Cranky"

This morning I did cheers with the kids to help Sam practice spelling. "Give me an S! Give me an A! Give me an M! What have you got? SAM!" We did this for all of our names.

Then Jude announced that he would like to change his name to Cranky. "Cranky is spelled with one S, two A's, one 3, one 4, and a M&M at the end."

Star Family

This week was Sam's turn to be star of the week at school. He got to do something special every day -- take pictures of our family, something for show and tell, etc.

One day he took a small book he'd filled in about our family. One page described things our family likes to do together. Sam circled all the pre-fab options: we play games together, eat meals together, watch tv together. Then there was a space to write in his own answer.

"Go..." he wrote on his own. It's a sight word he's already learned.

"to...." I was so proud. It was a Wednesday evening and we'd been to an Advent worship service in the afternoon. I was delighted that he wanted to tell his whole class that our family likes to go to church together.

"Target!" he announced. "I love to go to Target! How do you spell that?"

Jude's Home!

Jude's appendectomy on Monday morning went very well. The surgery was quick and there were no unexpected problems. Praise God! Jude came home late Tuesday afternoon.

I appreciate the Children's Hospital more than I can say, but I do not like living there.

Call to Nebraska

Ben and I drove to Columbus, Nebraska over Thanksgiving weekend to visit the congregation there that called Ben. It was an encouraging visit and we enjoyed meeting many kind people there. Ben is declining the call. Here is his statement for our church bulletin:

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

After Susan and I had a chance to visit Peace Lutheran Church in Columbus, Nebraska, last weekend, and after praying for God’s leading and discernment, I informed Peace-Columbus that I am declining their call to be their Associate Pastor. I do so with prayers that God will raise up the right man to serve them in this capacity; please keep our brothers and sisters in your prayers as well. Thank you to everyone for their prayers, encouragement, and thoughts during this time of considering calls to other congregations. I am confident that God works through the call process and will continue to use me in His mission in this place until He sees fit to call me elsewhere. If you have any questions regarding the call process, please do not hesitate to contact me. Thank you!

In Christ, Pastor Ben Squires

Thanks for your prayers and encouragement.