Looking to the Future

I stood on tiptoe to see the future,
But a haze blurred my sight;
I rubbed my eyes, exclaimed my sighs,
As the cloudy sky dissolved into night.

“Lord, this is confusing! I wish it were clear!
At least I am certain that You are here.”

I raised my hands to God in surrender
My lips formed a grateful smile,
My Father knows, and He knows best
This must be to grow my faith all the while.

“Father, show me what to do —and when and how;
Empower me to trust and obey You now.”

by Elaine Hardt ©2008

Photo by Joy Hardt ©2003, Africa

The Gift of Christmas

Of all the gifts that could be given,
Of all surprises that would please,
The world cannot fully know
The gift of Christmas.

Of all the music of instruments and voices,
The decorations of all color and glitter,
Such extravagance to show,
We lack the fullness of Christmas.

God gave His Son, astounding
Display of awesome love,
His forgiveness to bestow
On that first Christmas.

God gave you breath and heartbeat;
Did you thank Him for life?
The gift of gratitude you owe,
Can you speak of it at Christmas?

His love, and your love in return,
Expressing eternal truth,
Surpassing sky above and earth below,
Vastly bigger than vain imaginations.

True celebrations begin within,
Welling up, surpassing emotions;
Reverence starts to grow.
His presence can be your present at Christmas.

All too soon, the holiday is gone.
We need to linger on in His presence,
Before trivia ensnares us so;
Jesus is God’s gift of Christmas.

By Elaine Hardt ©2008

Winter's Mystery and Delight

When winter’s snow comes dancing down
A frosty cold claims woods and town.
Where winter holds us in embrace
Be thankful for this peaceful place.

When winter’s morn dawns muted gray
Here and there are birds at play.
They hop about and seem to say,
Will the children come today?

When winter’s noon shows turquoise sky
The snowdrifts melt with liquid sigh.
When shadows lengthen it’s time we go
To warm ourselves by fire’s glow.

When winter’s eve brings blowing storm
All God’s creatures must stay warm.
The night holds secrets like a dream,
In stalwart woods and frozen stream.

When winter’s scene you cannot find
Look within your childhood’s mind;
There reminisce the days of yore,
Such mystery, delight once more.

By Elaine Hardt ©2002
photo by Carlene or Peter Hardt ©2004

Before You're Snowed Under

Before you’re snowed under
with winter holidays
give yourself the gift
of contemplation.

A quiet heart can
be the doorway to a blessing
that you need,
and that you want.

Suggestion for meditation:
Psalm 148
John 3
Romans 8
Ephesians 1

by Elaine Hardt ©2006
photo by Peter Hardt ©2008

Relief From Winter's Assault

In the midst of artificial holiday cheer
avoid deep drifts of aggravation,
the freeze of frustration,
slippery confusion.

There's relief for weary travelers;
Your Father invites you to come.
The Cross road is the way
And His love is the Son.

More than shelter from winter's assault
Faith conquers life's trials;
Walk in confidence, sing for joy,
Jesus Christ is real.

by Elaine Hardt ©1990
photo by Carlene Hardt ©2006

An Overdose of Christmas?

Brace yourself, it’s time to get ready for the annual assault on pocketbook and stomach and imagination.

We are talking mega-stress, here. Colorful magazines and holiday decorated stores have already filled us with guilt to spur us on to action. It’s time for the latest chapter in conspicuous consumption. But that’s not the worst of it. The real problem with Christmas is an overdose of fantasy.

Christmas is real, and yet Christmas is fantasy. Do our children know the difference?

Talking snowmen, the story of the drummer boy, the littlest angel, the shepherd who brings a lamb, the grinch, the elf with frostbitten toes, talking ornaments, Santa by all his various names . . . on and on goes the list of Christmas phonies.

For Christians the reality of Christmas is so wonderful, so great, so important that it would be a terrible thing to misplace God’s true message for substitutions that tickle our imaginations and entertain us for a few weeks.

The simple and powerful account of Christmas, God with us, has become a tiny speck in a sea of hurry-scurry days that begin in early November. By the time January 2 rolls around we’ve had an excess of holiday, an overdose on fantasy.

Too much about Christmas is artificial. Blinking lights on houses get more attention than the gorgeous full moon in a black velvet sky. Tinsel, plastic trees, flimsy yet flashy decorations are everywhere.

Time for a reality-check.

Our children need to hear from us that the Bible is true and reliable. What it says is no fairy tale. God did send His Son. Jesus came from Heaven and was born as a baby, lived and grew up to die on the cross for our sins. Heaven is a real place and we will go there if we have accepted Jesus as our Savior. We won’t go there by “being good” and by being sincere. According to God’s covenant our sins had to be paid for by a blood offering, and Jesus was that one and only perfect offering.

Discuss what is real.

We don’t need to add imaginary appendages to the real thing. We have true accounts from the Bible of God doing awesome things, of people who were challenged to do outstanding things. We’ve allowed our Bible “stories” to become just that — a flannelgraph tale that glosses over the stark reality of real people in real life who heard from God and obeyed, or disobeyed.

In our homes we need to make these Bible accounts come to life. Make use of a globe, maps, time line, pictures. Discover more about the Jewish culture; how did they live in the New Testament times? Let our young people experience the truth of the Scripture as it was understood “then” and as it applies to our lives now.

Beware the Christmas impostors!

Don’t let our children become captivated by fiction. The truth of God is far more exciting, and eternity is far more important than entertainment.

Get an early start on Christmas this year. Have a family meeting and talk about these important issues.

The stress of the holidays can melt away when we’ve made a new beginning. Let’s clearly label what is real and what is fantasy. There is no better gift for our families than for each of us to know Jesus as Lord and Savior. + + +

by Elaine Hardt ©1996