Christmas Letters

Christmas 2015
 
I sit here pondering how to send Christmas cheer to each of you, how to quickly update you on my family happenings, and most importantly how to do as the shepherds once did after seeing baby Jesus, the hoped for Messiah, lying in the manger.  

“When they (shepherds) had seen him (Jesus), they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.” Luke 2:17-18

To start December off, I attended a Christmas concert called ‘The Portland Singing Christmas Tree’.  This has become a yearly tradition for me, my mom, my sister and sister in law.  I don’t know how many years we have attended, but each concert starts with santa and elves and songs like ‘Jingle Bells’ and ‘Jolly Old Saint Nicholas’.  Then intermission.  After intermission, the concert’s focus is on Jesus, where songs like ‘Silent Night’ and ‘Mary Did you Know’ are sung, always ending with a beautiful rendition of the nativity.  Well, this year was different.  Santa songs were followed by Jesus songs, then Holiday songs followed by Mary and Joseph songs.  Everything all mixed together.  

Days later I thought about the deeper meaning of having the Jesus songs mixed with the Holiday songs rather than clearly separated.  I like the mix.  I want my life to be the mix.  I don’t want to put Jesus in only a part of my life (like Sundays or at Bible Study), I want Jesus to be all throughout, all mixed in with each and every day.  I want to be like the Shepherds, who after seeing Jesus the Messiah, spread the good news.  The Shepherds told everyone they saw the amazing thing they saw!  I want to tell everyone about Jesus and the amazing gift He gives to us!

As we were decorating our tree this year, Jacob (6) was helping take ornaments out of the box and put them on the tree.  As he pulled out a star he praised God by saying, “praise you Lord for the star that led the wise men to Jesus”.  Then he pulled out a baby Jesus and said, “praise you Lord for sending Jesus”.  Jacob was worshipping God as he decorated the Christmas tree.  Jacob was doing something that was not ‘religious’, but was using that opportunity to worship God.  That is what I want my life to be.  A mix.  Praising, thanking and worshipping God in the ordinary everyday things of life.  Sharing with family, friends, grocery store clerks, neighbors, kids in Sunday school, the good things God is doing in our lives. 

This year I have the pleasure of attending Bible Study Fellowship where we are studying the book of Revelation.  Not only do I participate in the adult Bible study, I also get to teach 2 ½ year olds the truths in Revelation.  The truths are simplified for a 2 ½ year old to understand, but the truths are not glossed over or skipped.  In teaching the kids we are given a main truth.  We use the main truth in our Bible story and emphasize it throughout the morning.  Here are a couple of the main truths, I have taught. “The book of Revelation tells what God is going to do”, “Jesus knows what people think in their minds and what they love in their hearts”, and “People that believe the Lord Jesus Christ are adopted into God’s family”.  Zach (4) attends Bible Study Fellowship with me and goes to his own class.  One night at tuck in, we were talking.  Zach said “so, when you and dad die, you will be in heaven, right?” I said “Yes”.  He said “So, when Jacob and I die we will be in heaven?” I said “Yes”.  He said “we might see you and say ‘hi’”.  I agreed.  Zach said “so, all the people on earth will be in heaven”.   I was able to tell him from our Bible lesson that week, a verse from Joel 2:32: “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”   I told Zach, “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9.  I asked Zach if he believed and he said “I’m trying”.  I love Zach’s honesty.  It’s not easy to believe.  I would rather Zach wrestle and think about what he is told from the Bible, than to just accept it and not even think about it.  Somedays he tells me that he believes and other days he tells me he doesn’t believe in anything.  Wrestling is okay, seeking out the truth for yourself is okay.  

I take this brief moment to interrupt this letter with the Micheil Family highlights from 2015

This is not the sea bass, but a tuna Isaac caught

1.     We started the year with Isaac’s parents visiting us from Egypt.  What a blessing it was to have them all to ourselves for January. 

2.      Jacob had his first deep sea fishing trip and caught his first sea bass. 

3.      Jacob started kindergarten and is a beginning reader.

4.      Zach started preschool and his teacher appreciates having him in class.  He is the oldest kid in class and a good example for the younger kids.

5.      Jacob fell out of the tree – again.  We cut off the lower limbs so the tree would be ‘out of reach’.

6.      Zach fell off the top of the car.  Don’t worry it was parked.

7.      Isaac continues to ocean fish and brings friends with him to enjoy the sport.

8.      Isaac enjoyed hiking around the eastern Oregon mountains looking for deer and elk.  He did get a shot at one, but no meat for the freezer this year.

Jocelyn hiking with Jacob and Zach

Now back to the letter as I try and wrap up these thoughts.

Imagine with me, a bin full of Legos.  Thousands of little pieces my boys put together to create something that has a use and a purpose.   I have organized those little pieces by color and size only to have all my hard work dumped out the next day.  They look so pretty when sorted and color coded.   That is how I like life.  Neat, and orderly and perfectly arranged, but that’s not our life.  If the boys spent all their time sorting and organizing, they would never have time to imagine and build.  I’ll opt for a messy Lego bin with hours of creativity.   

In closing, here is our Christmas prayer for you:   Thank you Jesus for coming from perfect heaven to mixed up earth.  Thank you Jesus for not sorting out our lego bin, but rather coming beside us to teach us how to build.  Thank you Jesus for all of my friends and family who will read this rambling Christmas letter.  Bless them Lord Jesus with life everlasting.  Let them know it’s okay to wrestle with believing.  Give them peace as they face hardships and losses and let them praise you in the simple everyday things.  And help them live their lives as a mix.  Not putting you only in the manger at Christmas time, or on the cross at Easter, but putting you in their homes, sitting around the fire building legos. 

Merry Christmas!!

Camping at Timothy Lake with Mount Hood in the background

Jocelyn and the Micheil’s boys (Isaac, Jacob and Zach)