by Roseanna White | Dec 19, 2014 | Remember When Wednesdays, Uncategorized
Merry, merry Christmas, everyone!
I hope everyone has a wonderful week. I intend to spend mine having fun with the kiddos and finalizing our plans for making Christmas Day a day of remembrance for Jesus.
With this on my mind this year, I’ve been quite struck by a few things I’ve come across. A week or so ago we went on a field trip to a local historical house, which had a World War 1 display up for the holiday. The children got to hear the story of the Christmas Truce, when the British and German troops declared a cease-fire for Christmas and ventured into No Man’s Land, exchanging rations and playing soccer and remembering what peace on earth is really about. The fighting began again the next day–and the command was none too pleased when they learned that the soldiers in the foxholes took it upon themselves to do this–but looking back, it’s an inspiring story.
And oh, how I love touring this historic house. When you step into the ballroom, you see the grand, 16-foot-high Christmas tree. And learn that in 1914, the tree wouldn’t have been decorated until Christmas Eve, and would be closed off so the kids couldn’t see it until Christmas Day. But not first thing–oh no! First came church. Then a family brunch. And only then did the family open those doors to the ballroom and reveal the tree and the presents.
I’m really coming to love the simplicity of these sorts of celebrations. The fact that the gifts were few but meaningful, the emphasis of the day on Jesus first, family second, and only afterward the things. I find myself longing to recapture some of that. And wondering at the roots of our traditions.
So being me, I do a little research. 😉 I started in Ancient Rome, where they celebrated a winter holiday called Saturnalia. They would give gifts, light candles, and celebrate for a week…but while this celebration led up to the winter solstice, it’s not, as some would suggest, the roots of our Christmas. Nor, as other have suggested, is the Roman festival to the sun god, also celebrated on December 25. For centuries people have suggested this–with outrage–but in fact, the date of Christmas pre-dates the holiday of Sol Invictus. So if anyone was stealing, it was the Roman emperor. 😉
Why December 25th then? Well. *Grins* As it turns out, it all goes back to March 25. At the time, that was the date of the spring equinox. In Jewish tradition, it was believed to be the date that God created the earth, the date of the Passover, and so the date that Jesus was crucified. According to another Jewish tradition, important men were believed to live in whole years–which is to say, their life began and ended on the same date.
So how did the early church ascertain the date of Jesus’s birthday? They assumed that conception took place on March 25–that Jesus’s life as a human being began that day–and then counted exactly nine months forward. Hence, December 25.
Let’s not argue whether the math is exactly right or the validity of the whole-year supposition. Let’s just accept that it’s what people round about 300 A.D. believed. That is where the date of Christmas comes from, and the fathers of the early church were fully convinced by this. Me? I don’t know, and frankly, I don’t think it matters. But I accept the beauty of their reasoning, the simplicity of it, and I embrace their desire to celebrate the birth of our Christ.
In our house, we’re determined to keep only the traditions that bring us
Joy and keep our eyes on the Lord, not the ones that bring stress. Presents will be simple. Baking will be fun. Honestly, if I’m stressing about something–be it gifts or decorating or cookies–then that’s my cue to examine it and wonder if it’s pulling my eyes off Jesus. And you know what? It usually is. So those will be the first things I let go of.
I pray your celebration this year is filled with the Light of the World. That each candle you light is a testimony to Him. That each gift you give is out of love–the same love you received from the Father when He gave His Son. The same love
St. Nicholas embraced when he dropped gold down a chimney to save a family from the streets. The same love that raises man out of the mire and stretches him toward the Holy.
I pray that this Christmas is about the gift of Jesus to the world, and that new understanding of that amazing Gift falls on your heart and keeps you warm through the holidays.
God bless and Merry Christmas!
by Roseanna White | Nov 26, 2014 | Uncategorized
Today I’d like to share a post I also have up at Colonial Quills. Please hop over there to read the full article…but mostly, please join me in the deepest gratitude this year. Not just for what we have. But for the trials He’s brought us through…the promises He keeps. Let’s give Him:
We all know the story of the first Thanksgiving, and it’s one I’ve enjoyed reading to my kids again this year. All those old familiar tales of Squanto and the Pilgrims, of neighborliness and sharing.
But even more stirring was when I read about the Second Thanksgiving the Pilgrims celebrated.
Read the Full Article
by Roseanna White | Nov 20, 2014 | Thoughtful Thursdays, Uncategorized
A couple weeks ago, my kids said something that got me thinking. We were in the van, heading somewhere or another, talking about how Christmas is coming soon. Rowyn asked what day of the week it was on, and Xoe said, “Thursday. Hey, that means that in a couple years, it’ll be on church day! Won’t that be cool? I can’t think of a better way to celebrate Christmas than going to church.”
She didn’t realize how she hit me. How those words would echo with me. On the one hand, I’m saying, “Yay, my daughter gets it! She gets the real reason for Christmas! She’s thinking about Jesus!”
On the other hand, I’m knowing some severe guilt. Why? Because never in my life have I gone–nor wanted to go–to church on Christmas. Christmas Eve, yes. Of course. Always. But Christmas? No way. Christmas is for family time. Breakfast. Dinner. Presents. Christmas is for gathering with those I love and…and…and
what?
When did the church part get pushed out of the day? Maybe it started as anticipating, bringing it in…maybe we can say “Well we don’t even know what day Jesus was born on, so why does it matter when we go to church to celebrate it?” But if it doesn’t matter…if it’s meant to lead us to focus on him…why not give Him the day we give Him? Why do we push him to the night before, to an obligatory reading of Scripture, to a single candle lit and forgotten?
What if I’m wrong, have been wrong all my life? That’s what my husband and I were talking about later that same week. What if–brace yourselves–what if Christmas isn’t about family?
That’s the message in the feel-good movies, right? It’s a time of hope. Of giving. Of embracing that Christmas spirit. It’s a time of believing in the impossible. Of miracles (which may or may not include Santa). It’s a time for drawing close to those you love.
Only…it’s not. Or shouldn’t be. I’m not saying Christmas shouldn’t include those things…but shouldn’t it be a spiritual holiday? Shouldn’t I be thinking more about the miracle of God becoming man than a snowman coming to life? Shouldn’t the Christmas story be more than an obligatory reading? Shouldn’t I be more focused on preparing my heart for God than in preparing the presents for under the tree?
I’ve heard it all, read it all, said it all before…and then changed nothing. We still go out shopping and spending and asking our kids to make Christmas lists. We make them write down every thing they want and don’t have–and then get frustrated when they’re more focused on presents than Him. When they get upset if they don’t get what they ask for.
This year, something’s going to change in my house. For starters, no lists! This one has really struck me this year. I am absolutely, 100% not going to have my kids focus on what they want. I don’t want Christmas to be about what they want. I don’t, frankly, want it to be about what presents they’re giving (though that’s better). I want the focus to be on what they’ve already gotten. What has already been done. A celebration of the most amazing gift mankind has ever received.
We got God, y’all. In the flesh. Putting aside his deity to take on the fragile bones and sinews of a helpless little baby. I’m sorry, but a talking dragon toy ain’t got nothin’ on that.
This year, the few gifts we get our kids will be given to them on Christmas Eve. Yes, we’re still celebrating the
Joy of the holiday by trying to bring joy to those we love–within reason. We’re decorating, because celebration is important. But
that will be our lead-in, not our what-we’ve-led-up-to. Christmas Day, we’re going to focus on Him. I’ve asked the kids to come up with things they’d like to do Christmas morning to celebrate Jesus.
They want to sing.
They want to pray.
They want to read the Christmas story.
They want to have written their own Christmas stories and read them to us.
They want to make a gift for Jesus.
They want to make a cake (or pancake) for Him.
That will be our morning, then we’ll go spend time with the rest of the family. First though, we’re going to get grounded. We’re going to lift our hearts and spirits to Him. We’re going to make sure we’re not making an idol of the holiday.
Because I really, really don’t want the day that we set aside to celebrate Jesus becoming man to become a tool of the enemy. I really, really don’t want that enemy cackling over how he’s managed to cheapen it, even among the Church–especially among the Church. I don’t want my God in heaven to be looking on us with mourning, wondering why our families are more important than His.
Like all the best lies, there’s a kernel of truth in the way I’ve always done things. Family is important. The celebration is important. The cheer, the
Joy, the
spirit is important. But not as important as the Spirit. Not as important as the
why behind the celebration. Not as important as the Father who gave us this gift, the Brother with whom we’re joint-heirs to the kingdom.
This year, we’re not just talking about the Reason. This year, we’re changing things. And for the first time in…well, maybe ever…I’m excited to think, not about what gifts or parties or songs there might be, not about what I’m going to do–this year, I’m excited to think of what God might do among my family this Christmas.
by Roseanna White | Nov 13, 2014 | Thoughtful Thursdays, Uncategorized
“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.”
John 14:12
I had quite a few verses of Scripture that I kept in mind while writing A Soft Breath of Wind. One of them that was always hovering at the back of my mind was that one–John 14:12. A simple statement, made by Jesus to all who believe. To his disciples. To his followers.
I’ve heard this verse for a lot of years. I know it. I believe it. We, the church, are capable of doing miracles. We are. Do you ever question that? But we are.
This past spring, I read a really, really amazing non-fiction book that WhiteFire Published, called
No Plan B: Discovering God’s Blueprint for Your Life. I’ve mentioned this book on here before, but it bears repeating–it’s an amazing book. Because it helps shatter the lie that the church has come to believe over the past 2,000 years. That we
can’t do what Jesus did. That we’re powerless on earth, just waiting for heaven.
No true. So not true. And the author points out why. Jesus didn’t perform his miracles under his man-power, obviously. He didn’t perform them under his God-power, either, or we wouldn’t be able to do these works also. He did them under the power of the Holy Spirit. That same Holy Spirit that lives in us. Not that comes occasionally to visit us when the worship music hits us just so, but who lives in us. Always. He is the one who healed the sick, gave sight to the blind, fed the five thousand, and raised the dead.
Has the Spirit changed?
No.
Has the church?
Unfortunately…yes. Most of us have. We can’t believe in the miraculous in the world of CG and special effects. It just takes too much faith. We can’t believe in healings–and raising from the dead?? FORGET IT–in the world of emergency rooms, prescription drugs, and routine surgeries.
Nelson Hannah challenges us in No Plan B to let go of that lie–and, for heaven’s sake (literally), don’t teach our children that lie!
We tend to look at the church of Acts as something…special (and it was). But something…out of reach (but it isn’t). We tend to look at it as “Back in the day, when miracles happened.” I’ve even seen (quite a few) publishers who say, in their requirements “Stories may not include miracles unless they are biblical fiction.”
That galls me. It really does. Not because I have all these stories that want to use miracles as a device to quickly wrap up the action, but because I want to shout at these publishers and editors, “But He’s the same God! The same Spirit! Why in the world are characters set in A.D. 30 allowed to do it, but those from today aren’t???”
In A Soft Breath of Wind, there are miracles. Yes, it’s biblical fiction. So they’d be “allowed” by any publisher. But the whole point of the miracles, in Soft Breath, is that it’s the power of the Spirit, working through imperfect humans who doubt, just like we do. But who choose to believe instead, just like we can.
Because Jesus doesn’t say that we might do greater works than these. He doesn’t say that “He who believes in me today–but not those who believe in me in later generations, mind you–will do these same works and greater.” He says, “He who believes.”
In my book, not every character believes. But Zipporah does. She believes with the faith of a child, a faith that she clings too as she grows up, even in the face of doubt from those who should believe in her. She believes in the impossible, because nothing is with God. She believes that what Jesus spoke is truth.
In A Soft Breath of Wind, there are miracles. But the miracles aren’t used as a quick wrap-up. The miracles aren’t an easy way out. The miracles are the hard part, because they require the characters to let go of their human understanding, their human limitations, and trust in Him. They require them to step outside what they “know.”
They require them to believe in him.
Every wonder why Jesus says we’ll not only do what he does, but greater? Because we’re operating by the same Spirit…but now we have him in heaven, too, making intercession for us. Sometimes when I pause and think about it, this just awes me. Jesus–wise and humble, perfect and bold–is fighting for me. And his Spirit is whispering into my mind.
Writing A Soft Breath of Wind forced me to look pretty deeply at this. Forced me to realize that if I’m not doing these things–and greater–it’s no fault of His. It’s a fault of mine. It’s my lukewarm faith, not the age I live in. It’s me choosing to focus on the things of this world instead.
I’m not there yet–I’ll be totally honest about that. But I’ll state it here and now, a phrase pretty popular this time of year with talk of Santa and that famous Miracle on 34th Street.
I believe.
I believe He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
I believe the same Spirit that raised the dead and healed the blind and wrapped time around His little fingers is here today, waiting to be called upon.
I believe Jesus spoke truth when he made that promise.
I bet you believe too. The questions is…what are we going to do about it?
*Sunshine photo:
photo credit: Hamed Saber via photopin cc
by Roseanna White | Nov 12, 2014 | Uncategorized
Release week means a departure from the norm. 😉 Bear with me.
First, A Soft Breath of Wind is love on Nook!
Next, I have a marketing post up on Seriously Write–part 1, with part 2 coming December 10th.
Finally, did you get my newsletter?
If not, it went out last night–you can view it
here, and sign up for future updates
here!
Stay tuned for more links and updates throughout the week!
by Roseanna White | Nov 11, 2014 | Uncategorized
It’s release week! And as usual, I’m celebrating with appearances on some fabulous blogs–interviews, guest posts, and reviews will all be coming up, including some giveaways! So be sure to stop by and say hi!
Monday, 11/10
Wednesday, 11/12
Friday, 11/14
Saturday and Sunday, 11/15-16
Friday, 11/21
And I’m always happy to do more guest spots as they arise, so if you’d like to host me on your blog, just drop me a line!
Roseanna M. White is a bestselling, Christy Award winning author who has long claimed that words are the air she breathes. When not writing fiction, she’s homeschooling her two kids, editing, designing book covers, and pretending her house will clean itself. Roseanna is the author of a slew of historical novels that span several continents and thousands of years. Spies and war and mayhem always seem to find their way into her books…to offset her real life, which is blessedly ordinary.