Posted on by Lori Cartmell

The Perfect Christmas?

Photo by Adam Clark on Flickr CC BY-SA 2.0

What’s your idea of the perfect Christmas? Many of us have images in our minds of what the ideal Yuletide should look like.

It usually involves a spectacular Christmas tree with enticing gifts piled beneath it. The house would be decorated with pine boughs and red bows inside, and the exterior decked out with lights. The day itself would feature a scrumptious dinner with all the fixings, and numerous home-baked desserts. Top it all off with a house full of family, friends and laughter.

There’s only one problem with this picture.

It’s awfully hard to live up to.

Perhaps you were laid off from your job just before Christmas. Or maybe you’re employed, but things are still really tight financially. You just can’t provide all the gifts that your children have been asking for, and you know they might be disappointed.

Or maybe someone in your family is going through a health crisis. It looks serious, and you’re all under a lot of stress as a result. It might be hard to feel “merry” this Christmas.

It could be that you have some fractured or broken relationships in your life. Maybe things are very tense with a certain family member. Or perhaps you’ve lost someone dear to you, and this will be the first Christmas without them. The holidays might be a lonely time for you.

There are a lot of reasons why the Christmas season might fall short of what we want it to be.

But when you think about it, the first Christmas was fraught with struggles, too. Mary and Joseph certainly didn’t have it easy.

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Posted on by Lori Cartmell

The Wrong Idea of Dessert

Image of sweet red bean soup by Roland from Flickr, CC BY 2.0

Do you like brownies? How about chocolate cake?

If you do, then you and I are on the same page when it comes to sweets. We both have the same idea of what a perfect dessert is.

Not everyone might agree with us, however.

Take my friend John, whose background is Greek. He likes syrupy-sweet desserts like the Greek classic baklava, or nut-based ones like walnut cake, things I love as well.

John happens to be married to an Asian woman. They agree on most things, except when it comes to dessert.

Case in point: John’s in-laws once treated him to dinner at a Chinese restaurant. They promised him an extra-special dessert to finish off the banquet, something he’d absolutely love.

John couldn’t wait: his mouth was watering in anticipation of this mystery dessert. He imagined something intensely sweet to finish off the meal, perhaps a cake with multiple layers and lots of icing.

But when the dessert was placed in front of him, John was confused.

It was red bean soup.

While this dish is popular among Chinese people and is considered the crown jewel to end a banquet with, it wasn’t John’s idea of dessert. He was gracious in front of his in-laws, but secretly felt cheated.

The problem? John’s definition of dessert was different to that of his in-laws. His expectations were askew, so he was disappointed with what he got.

I think the same thing happens to us when read certain Bible verses—we may build up incorrect expectations based on our ingrained ideas.

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Posted on by Lori Cartmell

The Inside Scoop

Image by Dan Fador from Pixabay

What do you see when you look at a tree?

Probably the same things I do: its pleasing shape, the attractiveness of the leaves, its height, or the welcoming shade it casts. The presence of flowers, fruit, or nuts on its branches would also catch my attention.

But someone who wants to use the tree will look at it quite differently.

A woodworker will assess a tree’s trunk and branches and have a sense of the quality of wood it will bear. He or she will know which areas will produce the truest grain, and whether the core of the tree is likely to be “conky,” or decayed inside.

My grandfather could judge a tree in this way.

He could discern how the way the tree had grown and the stresses it had been exposed to would combine to make the strongest grain. He could point to the best part of the tree out of which to make an axe handle, for instance.

My grandfather and I could look at the same tree but see entirely different things. I would consider the outside, but he would look much deeper.

I think God’s vision works in the latter way.

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