Heather Holleman's Blog, page 75

A Weaker Christmas

I’ve always loved that Jesus came as a weak baby. There’s something so biblical about weakness that hides a secret, counterintuitive strength. It’s like the upside world you inhabit in Philippians 2 where we learn how the servant becomes the exalted one. You know the mystery: the first become last; the last become first. You see this remarkably laid out in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 where God speaks to Paul about Paul’s weakness that becomes his strength:

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

It’s a strange phenomenon that the weak person enjoys God’s power resting on her. The weak Christian takes particular delight in the things everyone avoids and detests: insults, hardship, persecution, difficulties (one translation says “calamities”). Delighting in calamity? In hardship?

The older I grow in the Lord, the more strange I realize Christianity actually is. It’s a profoundly different kind of living.

If it’s a Christmas of weakness—through illness and difficulty in any form–may we know the mystery of Christ’s power resting on us in a special way. May we feel fresh strength and supernatural delight.

Simple Gratitude

I love the practice of keeping a gratitude journal each morning. Today, I find myself so thankful for things that keep to a theme: nature. 

Do you find your gratitude contains a theme?

I’m thankful that my Christmas amaryllis will bloom in the next few days. I’m thankful for the beautiful moon on the crisp winter night. I’m thankful for a cat curled up on my lap. I’m thankful for my orchids that once again have thrived on neglect and will also bloom soon. I’m thankful for snow. While we aren’t supposed to enjoy a white Christmas this year, today the forecast shows flurries. I cannot wait to pull out my new snow boots when the time comes.

It you aren’t in the habit of keeping a gratitude journal, let me suggest this as one of my top 3 mental health practices (next to daily walking and prayer). I record just five things a day. You can also list people you are thankful for, and then you can send them a message of thanks sometime that day. Add your husband and children to that list if you haven’t affirmed them in a while! Ha! You will feel so good as you cultivate a thankful heart.

God Satisfies the Longing Soul

Today I take comfort in Psalm 107:9: “He satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things.” I notice the word “soul.” It’s inside of us. More and more, I think of the internal soul blessings of peace, joy, and a sense of God’s love and presence. Externally, our prayers may never be answered in the way we wish (because we cannot see God’s goodness is His delays, refusals, or blocked paths), but internally, God offers endless satisfaction and the “good things” the soul needs.

An Odd But Delicious Little Appetizer

I’ve twice now baked breaded artichoke hearts to dip in a lemon, garlic, mayo sauce. I know it’s odd. But I love artichokes. I have great memories of eating artichokes as a child and dipping the leaves in butter. I couldn’t wait to get to the heart!

To make this recipe, you defrost a bag of frozen artichoke hearts, use a paper towel to absorb any moisture, and dip the hearts in panko bread crumbs seasoned with garlic powder. Put them on a cookie sheet elevated on a cooling rack. I baked these at 400 degrees until golden–maybe 15 minutes. They turn out firm and crispy and perfect for dipping.

To make the dipping sauce, just squeeze half a lemon into a little bowl with 1/4 cup mayo and one pressed (or chopped) garlic. Delicious!!

The Old Christmas Movies

I love watching old Christmas movies like the classic 1964 Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. This program is the longest running Christmas TV special of all time since it has aired every single December since the 60’s. I love the stop-motion animation, the fun characters, and the music.

I like imagining how children today enjoy the very same television program that children enjoyed almost 60 years ago. Back then, Rudolph first aired on a Sunday night (December 6) on NBC, sponsored by General Electric. I imagine what that Sunday was like in 1964 for children. It mostly likely involved church, a Sunday drive in the family car, and then playing outside riding bikes. I imagine children had just finished their dinner that involved some kind of Jell-O mold and perhaps Beef Stroganoff (popular in the 60’s!) before sitting down to watch the special Christmas program they’ve been waiting all year for. They sat around the single RCA family television in the living room.

So much has changed technologically in our lives and in our homes since the 1960’s, but some things remain as we gather around a Christmas tree to watch Rudolph. While children in the 60’s were more likely to have a hula-hoop than AirPods, iPhones, laptops, they still share something with kids of today: a love of the old classic Christmas movies.

The Christmas Cake

This year, for our Christmas cake, my husband made a Gingerbread Cake with Eggnog Icing. I love how festive and Christmasy the house feels with such a treat in the kitchen.

The Famous Loop

Sometimes when my daughter and I walk the loop around our neighborhood, people remark how consistent we are, and how they see us every day, and how we inspire them. We’ve been walking regularly since 2019 when the pandemic sent us into isolation.

I love the comments. We feel famous! My favorite comment of all, and one I receive regularly, is how refreshing it is to see a cool teenager walking with her mother every day. Moms of toddlers will say, “I hope my teen daughter will walk with me like your daughter walks with you.”

Yesterday, a mom told me that her 6 year old (who alway watches in the window as my daughter and I walk past her house) said, “Mommy, when I grow up, I want to walk with you like that girl. She’s so cool. I want to do that with you.”

I tell my daughter we’re starting a walking campaign, a movement, a revolution!

It is good for any family members to walk together. On a walk, you can talk or just observe your surroundings. You can take an “awe walk” to find wonderful things (owls, pinecones) or just notice how other people live. We observe houses, cars, gardens. We love noting Christmas decorations. We talk about music, TikTok, school, things we’re learning. We dream about the future. We laugh and tease each other. We de-stress. We talk about God.

We walk for 40 minutes to an hour. The time flies. We stay healthy–physically and relationally.

Verbs to Shape the Day from Colossians

In Colossians 1:9-14, I notice all the beautiful verbs that remind me of the purpose of the day and, in fact, the purpose of all my days to come. Paul writes this:

For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

What if our whole day, our whole week, our whole year had everything to do with these four verbs? Today, we bear fruit, we grow, we are being strengthened, we are thankful.

Ask God to prompt you into the good works for the day. Is anything coming to mind?

Choose to grow in the knowledge of God (Bible reading, theological books, sermons, podcasts). Maybe take an hour to increase your knowledge. What will you choose to read?

Realize that your hardships are part of the strengthening process.

Actively give joyful thanks. Remember you have been rescued. We rejoice for that! Christmas is about rescue. 

If your day lacks shape and vision, read Colossians and reclaim your purpose.

An Ode to this Cat

I have a lap cat. If you’re sitting down, she’s in your lap. If you’re in bed, she’s beside you. If you’re watching TV, she’s watching TV with you. In the wintertime, I love having a cat close by. I love how chosen I feel by this little cat who wants my company all the time. My other cat sleeps under the Christmas tree all day long, and I love how cozy the house feels with him there.

I love observing animals. Sometimes, I look down at my cat and marvel at her eyes, her fur, and her little paws. I consider what a gift animals are to us and how they move about with their own secret intelligence. I’m so thankful for them. I’m so thankful for a cat’s purr, their warmth as they curl into a ball beside you, and for their presence that’s both full of love and judgment at the same time! Ha! Cats know they are superior to all.

If you need more joy in your life, consider adopting a cat or dog to love.

A New Kind of Christmas Joy

Everyone wishes for a special and meaningful holiday season. We seek happiness, great memories, joyful and peaceful moods, and laughter. We work hard to create experiences for our families. This can feel overwhelming, exhausting, and disappointing. But there’s an escape from this way of thinking and doing. There’s a different path to Christmas joy.

This morning, I remember two distinct moments in the book of Matthew where Jesus reminds us of a new way to live. First consider his words in Matthew 11:28-30:

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Even now, you can exchange your weary burdens for Jesus’s light and easy rest. That’s the first step. It’s a simple act of faith. The second step? Consider Matthew 6:33. Jesus has been teaching here about worry and how much we fret about everything from food to clothes. He even made the astonishing statement about prayer and how “the Father knows what you need before you ask him.” So remember that God knows exactly what you need today. Jesus then states this about all those things we want and need:

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 

There’s a new order here: We rest in Jesus, seek first Him, and everything else follows in perfect alignment. If you’ve tried and tried to build a perfect situation for yourself—whether the holiday season, your relationships, your own happiness—(and you’re disappointed every time) try a new recipe for Christmas joy.