Sacred Mundane: The Blog

Wow.  Tonight Jeff and I crept into Dutch’s room and watched him sleep.  As we tiptoed out of the room, we gently closed the door and Jeff pulled me into his arms.  “We did it, Sauce.  We did it.”  I smiled up at him.  Yes, we did it.  We made it through one year of parenthood, and a first birthday party. 🙂  And it all was more wonderfully amazingly deliciously fabulous than we could ever have imagined.

Dutch was so wonderful today.  We sang him happy birthday this morning as we got him up from his crib, then I made Dutch Babies for breakfast, a sort of baked pancake that puffs up in the oven, that you eat with powdered sugar on top.  He played contentedly, had a bath, went with us for a walk, and watched me give Daddy a hair cut.  He was too wired for an afternoon nap, so I was afraid that he might melt down when we had 18 guests for his birthday party.  But, once again I underestimated the Dutcher.  He was wonderful.  But most of all I was wowed and amazed at the friends and family who made this day so special.  Oma and Papa worked, getting things ready for the party.  Papa vacuumed and Oma went into town for special balloons for Dutch’s big day.  Daddy put out the Happy Birthday sign and helped me get the food ready.  Grandpa and Grandma Patterson and Great-Grandma Ricketts came from California just for the party!  Papa and Nana Richter made the trek over from Bend for the day just for the party.  Uncle John, Aunt Brenda, and cousin Brooke came from Phoenix, and Aaron and Candi and baby Hannah came from Boston!  Jeremy, Melea, Megan, and Vicki made special appearances for his special day, and Great-Grandma Ruthe came down from Lake Oswego.  They absolutely showered Dutch with gifts–new clothes (that will fit him!), an amazing classic Radio Flyer beginner bike, his first big tub of baby Leggos, a complete Nerf sports ball set, books that sing, a savings bond (!), a gold Kruggerong (!), a sizable check (!), bath toys, meal-time toys … the list goes on and on!  He is one blessed little boy!

What I’m left with is this:  Raising our son is definitely not a solo act.  Of course it’s God who gives us the strength, wisdom, preserverence, and patience every day. But it is our friends and precious family who stand with us, love our son, bless him and invest in him and take joy in him and care for him, it is these amazing people who live life with us who truly make Dutch the amazing boy that he is.  I want to do whatever I can to invest in these amazing relationships, so that Dutch can learn from them and so that his life can be colored and shaped by theirs.

THank you to all of you who blessed Dutch today with your presence, phone calls, cards, and gifts.  Wow.  Jeff and I collapse into bed tonight sweetly exhausted.  What an amazing day.  I am truly blessed.

We did it.  We made it through the first year.  Because of you all.  We made it because of you.

Tonight I was frosting a birthday cake.  After swirling the vanilla frosting, I stuck on the little decorative baseballs diamonds, then poked the huge number one into the middle and laid the collegiate block lettering across the top: “Go Dutch!”  I had to shake my head and marvel.  I was decorating my son’s birthday cake.  My son is having a birthday.  Tonight as I put him to bed, I almost didn’t want to lie him down.  I snuggled him in my arms and told him how proud I was to be his mommy, how proud I was of how big he is and how brave and strong and fun.  I laid him down and he giggled, the way he does, like it’s a game, then he pumps his legs up and down, sliding his heels down the sheet and kicking off his blankets.  He reached up and held my hand as I covered him back up and began to pray.  I prayed, as I do every night, that he would come to know God at a young age, and that He would walk with God all the days of his life, and that He would change this world for Christ.  I prayed that every birthday he would know and love God more than the year before.  I prayed that God would give him many more birthdays and that He’d be gracious enough to let me see many more of his birthdays.  I can’t believe that one year ago I was in the hospital.  I had just received my epidural (God, bless whoever invented those things!), and was just hours away from delivering our little blond-haired blue-eyed boy.  In some ways this year is a blur.  It’s like a ball starts slowly rolling down a hill and you can’t stop it and it goes faster and faster.  One minute ago I swear Dutch was just starting to bat at the toys on his play mat and coo at us in the mornings.  Now he cruises through the house behind his walker at top speed, crashing through chairs and into walls, laughing and clapping for himself.  I’m sure it’ll be a blink and he’ll be cruising behind the wheel of a car … but I can’t even let myself go there yet. 

Just now I went and peeked at Dutch while he slept.  On his belly, with his arms to the side and his face burrowed into the bumper at the side of the crib, his perfect little lips puckered slightly and the sweet sound of his breathing.  What a perfect, precious sight.  My precious little Dutch is a baby no longer, he is a little boy, full of joy and vitality and energy and creativity.  God, give us the grace to raise Him to be the man of God You want Him to be.  Happy Birthday, Dutch.  Being your mommy is the greatest joy I could imagine. 

The second sermon on our Restoring Christmas series was entitled Spend Less.  This sermon was awesome, although Pastor Dale said that there were a lot of really unhappy people after the sermon!  People don’t like being told how to spend “their” money.  The message is basically this:  We have so materialized Christmas.  Americans spend an average of almost $1,000 dollars on Christmas gifts!  Can you believe that amount?  That is a total of about 457 BILLION dollars spent on Christmas gifts alone. Goodness gracious.  Can you imagine is even HALF that amount was given instead to foreign missions or to feed hungry children or provide medical care or disaster relief?  Just half?  Most Americans will pay off Christmas credit card debt through JUNE of the following year.  That is ridiculous.

The sad thing is that we’ve equated Christmas with spending money.  Most of the gifts we buy are obligatory.  We feel we should by so-and-so a gift and it has to be worth a certain amount or else it seems rude.  But the wrong thinking is this:  Where did the idea come from that in order to show someone we really love them we have to spend lots of money on them?  The most meaningful things Jeff has done for me have nothing to do with money.  But I have often felt this way.  I’ve often felt bad because my gift didn’t seem big enough or expensive enough or they weren’t wrapped that great and didn’t wow the recipient.  But that is a selfish motive.  If we buy someone a nice gift in order to impress them, we’re really giving ourselves something: pride!  It is truly sad how twisted our thinking has gotten in terms of gifts.

 However, keep in mind I’m not saying that gifts are bad.  I bought lots of gifts this year.  But, we always make a CHristmas budget before hand and we always stick to that budget.  More and more, we are giving relationally and spiritually valuable  gifts more than monetarily valuable gifts.  For example, now that we have a son, we give photogifts!  Photobooks, calendars, mugs, sweatshirts, and t-shirts are such a great way to bless grandparents.  I was recently given the gift of a Family Question set: a glass cube filled with cards with questions as conversation starters.  What a great gift!  I love it because it is something I’d never buy for myself but it promotes family and relationships and significant conversation.  This year my brother requested that for Christmas we buy farm animals for Gospel for Asia families.  It was so easy, you just go to their website (click there for link) and we were able to purchase a pair of rabbits and pair of chickens for an Asian familyh in need in my brother’s name.  What a great idea!  So for his gift we got him a little rubber chicken and a stuffed bunny from the dollar store to signify the animals that were given at his request.  I have to admit, I’m not as selfless as my brother yet–I asked for gift cards to clothing stores for Christmas. 🙂  (Hey, give me a break–that’s how I do all my shopping during the year!)

I had the sweetest day this week because my parents wanted to provide food for the charity food boxes that our church gives away over Christmas.  So my dad gave me $100 cash and I went to Winco and loaded up on all the things from the church’s list of needed items.  It was SO MUCH FUN to pick out healthy non-perishable items and think about blessing people with them.  After that I was able to give some to a homeless man I saw on the on-ramp on I-205.  But then you know what?  I splurged on a pair of jeans (“for Christmas”) and that was the least fun part of my day.  The one part of the day where I got myself something ended up being the most draining. In fact, I wasn’t happy with them later and took them back.  But what that showed me was that the joy of doing something for other people was a million times better than doing things for myself.  I’m not cured, that’s for sure, but I think I’m maybe starting to learn.

So, perhaps it’s a little late this year (although it’s not too late to return things!  Today I returned that pair of jeans I bought), but I challenge you to spend less this Christmas.  Take at least 1/4 of what you usually spend and give it to a charity organization.  We have so much.  And if you can’t buy everyong on your list an amazing, pricey present–who cares?  SHOW them you love them.  Make them a card, write them a letter, paint them a picture, change the oil in their car, give them a tank of gas, bake them cookies, enlarge their favorite picture.  Let us not love in word (and dollar!) only but in deed and in truth. 

Our pastor’s is currently teaching on Restoring Christmas and last week’s message was the first point of the series: Worship More.  I have to say that Christmas is by far my favorite holiday.  Many people say that it’s ruined because of materialism and Santa Clauss (I don’t even know how to spell Claus(s)!), but I don’t agree.  Yes, it’s deteriorated beyond imagination, but every year, there is one thing that restores the entire season for me–Christmas Worship Music.  I’ve written before about Mercy Me’s Christmas CD.  Well yesterday as I drove to tutoring, I saw that Jeff had slipped a copy of that CD for me to listen to in the car.  I slid it into the CD player and turned up the volume. Within minutes I was in tears, raising my hands worshipping my Lord with all my heart.  Those age-old Christmas carols are powerful.  How often do we reflect on what they’re truly saying?  Every year I am astounded at the power of their words, at the greatness of our God. I feel like going up to every silly CHristmas shopper and saying, “Do you have any idea what you’re missing?!  There is so much more for you!”  So, today I’m just going to leave you with some of my favorite Christmas lyrics.  Reflect on these, sing these.  DOwnload some Christmas music, perhaps updated by your favorite band, and sing, really sing.  Listen, really listen.  Worship. Really worship.

From O Holy Night:

Chains shall he break for the slave is our brother,
and in his name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we;
Let all within us praise his holy name.
Christ is the lord, that ever, ever praise we.

From Hark the Herald Angels Sing:

veiled in flesh, the Godhead see
hail the incarnate Deity
pleased, as man with men to dwell
Jesus, our Immanuel!

Other ways to worship more:  Choose to slow down, plan less, shop less, spend less — and spend time being relational.  Posessions lose value over time.  Memories gain value over time. 

Let’s make our goal to worship God this Christmas–it is His birthday that we celebrate!