Welcome to my home:
a place to rest,
a place to revive,
a place to pray.

In my soon-to-release children's book Christmas Morning, a little girl opens one gift after another, and each one of these presents take her on an exciting and whimsical adventure in her very own living room. These tangible gifts are meant to symbolize deeper intangible truths that we all have in Christ.

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The first gift the little girl opens is a crown. This is not an ordinary crown --the kind that eventually gets lost in the bottom of a dress-up container. Rather, it symbolizes the crown that we are given through our faith in Christ. When the little girl puts it on her head, a thrill runs all the way down to her toes and then her living room is teeming with LIFE--a vibrant tree, birds, butterflies and bunnies appear. She freely sings, skips, hops and does cartwheels all around the room! When all of these things eventually disappear, the thrill that the crown gives her does not.

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May I remind you that if you believe in Jesus, he has given you a CROWN OF LIFE? All too often we strive to put tangible crowns on our heads--crowns of beauty, fame and fortune. These headpieces only weigh us down. In stark contrast, the crown that Jesus gives us lifts our chin and causes us to walk lightheartedly as his winsome ambassadors. Who wouldn't want this crown? Well, we have it! Jesus gave it to us!

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LET'S PUT ON OUR CROWN OF LIFE, and by faith, let's freely walk (sing, skip, hop, and do cartwheels) because of these biblical truths:

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Psalm 103:4

(Bless the Lord)...who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy.

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Psalm 8:4-5

What is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.

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Isaiah 61:3

(The Spirit of the Lord is upon me)...to grant those who mourn in Zion--to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.

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John 10:10

...I came that they might have life and have it abundantly. John 10:10

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Galatians 5:1

For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

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Like the little girl in the story, we can say with delight, "My chin is up, because I'm wearing his crown."

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When my illustrator (and daughter-in-law) Acacia and I were having one of our meetings concerning the artwork that would go on each page of Christmas Morning, she suggested that we should put in some Easter eggs in the book. Not quite following her lingo, I took this literally and was wondering to myself why in the world would we put Easter eggs in a Christmas book?!

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Acacia then explained it to me...

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Oh!! Easter eggs--little hidden items on the illustrated pages! I loved the idea. So...there are small treasures with sentimental value sprinkled throughout Christmas Morning. I will list them here so you can join in the fun with word-explanations now, and then hopefully later with the completed illustrated book in hand:

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‍The redbird in the window. Redbirds have a significant meaning to me. Long ago (meaning, decades ago!), on a snowy afternoon in January, God used this small brilliant red winged-creature to speak of his great love to me personally. At that time in my life, my faith-walk was riddled with doubt and insecurity. One afternoon, I cried out to God, wondering if he even knew where I was. His sweet way of answering me was to send a redbird directly in front of my window. When it landed on a bush covered with snow, I felt seen and heard. God was not far away! He cared! Not only did he know where I was, but he also knew what would grab my heart. The redbirds (cardinals) continue to fly my direction to this day. God is faithful and good.

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The little white doggy. This wonderfully illustrated dog in Christmas Morning is a tribute to our late cairn terrier. She belonged to my youngest daughter Emmy, but she was also my constant companion once Emmy went to college. Juliet, aka Baby "J", will always hold a special place in our hearts. It was a sad day for all the Baxter clan when we had to put her to sleep about a year ago. She "lives on" in such a fun and adventurous way throughout the pages of this Christmas story.

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The pictures on the wall and over the fireplace. There are two framed pictures on one of the pages in the book. One of these pictures is meant to represent my four young grandchildren: Hally, Ada, Simon, and Isaiah. The second picture is of a beautiful oak tree sitting in a grassy field. This illustration is bittersweet because it represents the tree that was planted at my other little grandson's burial site. Brave Rutherford Baxter was delivered (by Acacia, the illustrator) at 36 weeks without a heartbeat last October. I'm thankful to have this picture of a strong vibrant tree in the book, drawn by his mother, in her son's, my grandson's, honor. The third framed picture in the book sits over the fireplace and it is also in Brave's honor. It is an illustration of a deer leaping over a fence which is meant to represent the beautiful leap that Brave has made from earth to heaven--a leap that all who believe in Jesus will be given as an eternal gift: from death to Life! Thank you Jesus!

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Easter eggs in a Christmas book! What a novel idea. Each of these little treasures mentioned above have contributed both depth and sentiment in the pages of Christmas Morning. I hope you will enjoy them as well when the book comes out in the early fall.

Stay tuned for the opening of the Christmas gifts--one by one...in my next post.

Words cannot fully express the pain of losing a child, no matter the age. I've had a taste of this kind of heartache when I briefly held my grandson who was born without a heartbeat at 36 weeks. I will always miss him.

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My prayer is that the truth in this "song of lament" will be of some comfort to anyone who is struggling with the real, raw, and immense emotions that accompany grief.

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Right now, I am thinking of the parents of the little girls from Camp Mystic in Texas.

Hear the Lord whisper, "I'm holding you both."

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I'm Holding You Both

O my

O, my God

O, my God, no!

A heart of sorrow, tears of pain-

This, my God, is more than a sting.

Where's the victory?

Where's the hope?

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I'm holding onto life,

I'm holding onto life,

I'm holding onto Life,

I'm holding onto Christ...

He gently whispers, "I'm holding you both."

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A heart of sadness, tears remain,

An earthly loss for a heavenly gain??

And this is the story that You wrote?!

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I'm holding onto life,

I'm holding onto life,

I'm holding onto Life,

I'm holding onto Christ...

He sweetly whispers, "I'm holding you both."

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A heart of aching, tears make stains,

Tears of anguish well up again-

I'm trusting, trusting - but help me cope!

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I'm holding onto life,

I'm holding onto life,

I'm holding onto Life,

I'm holding onto Christ...

He softly whispers, "I'm holding you both."

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A heart of longing, tears untamed,

Release, hold on, release again-

God, assure me she's dancing to the song you wrote:

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"I'm holding onto Life,

I'm holding onto Life,

I'm holding onto Life,

I'm holding onto Christ!"

As you sing to me, "I'm holding you both."

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O my

O, my God

O my God, help me say... "Yes."

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