"And she brought forth her firstborn SON, and wrapped HIM in swaddling cloths, and laid HIM in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn." Luke 2:7
Dear Friends,
Last week, Hannah Beth and I were blessed to spend the week up in Gatlinburg. Our friends, the Hembree's, invited our family to stay in the amazingly beautiful 3 story cabin they were renting. I know some of you must be thinking, every time you read these emails I'm in Gatlinburg...well, I have been blessed to go several times this fall, that's for sure. We ate at several really scrumptious restaurants we haven't eaten at before...and getting on the scales to weigh this morning reflected that...ugh, and we went to several shows we'd never seen like "The Miracle," a show about the life of JESUS, the Blackwood Brothers and "the Black Bear Jamboree." Hannah Beth ice skated with our friends up at Ober Gatlinburg and went to "Wonder Works," a "souped up" hands on science museum that had laser tag, rock climbing, and a bunch of other neat stuff. I made it to Dollywood, in my long johns, and warm clothes, and a rain coat, to see the beautiful CHRISTmas lights (the old white church decorated with hanging greens and white CHRISTmas lights was my favorite), ride the train through the cold, dark mountain, and shop a little, for an hour and a half before they closed due to ice and snow moving in. We shopped in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg where the streets were decorated with snowflakes going up and down the poles, and all decked out in ribbon and lights for CHRISTmas. We went in art stores I've never been in, but I sure was blessed by the artwork of JESUS and scenes from the Bible and nature scene. We hit a bunch of shops I've never been...honestly, they hit a bunch of stores, and i waited outside most of them, i had had my chemical fill from the cabin, and was trying to survive. We did manage to squeeze in a trip to Greenbrier Thursday morning in the rain. Greenbrier is one of the most peaceful and picturesque areas of the Smokies, with it's beautiful waterfalls, the highest one in the park is there, and I've never had the opportunity to hike up to it yet, hiking trails with the rhodenderon and mountain laurels blooming in the spring, and the Little Pigeon River running through it. Riding through there, getting out on the walking bridge and setting foot on the Ramsey Cascades trail, gave me my nature fix. It was just the therapy i needed...I'm not a shopper by nature, and was longing to get out in the woods all week. We saw kayakers taking advantage of the rapids in the Little Pigeon River and I sure did envy them playing in the water. We watched as the water billowed over the huge rocks like I've never seen before due to the torrential rain the LORD was blessing us with most of the week. The rain was a great blessing from the LORD, a couple of years ago we were there and the rivers were almost dried up due to the drought.
Before anyone might be tempted to get envious... I wanted to show you a side of my traveling that is not so glamorous, but it does draw me closer to the LORD, and causes me to lean on HIM while HE takes us to these wonderful places, and we get to be with dear friends. I was a bit apprehensive about this trip because when we travel, we usually stay where it's "semi-safe" for me if we can. What i mean by that is GOD has allowed my body to have a "detox" system that is missing a few genes, or they're damaged, and I don't process chemicals too well. We usually try to stay at a place that is not too smelly with fragrances, or not too new-formaldehyde, paints, etc, etc. etc...but that doesn't always happen and sometimes i just end up sleeping in the car, on the balcony, on the deck, porch, I've done them all. On this trip, our friends were gracious enough to invite us to stay in the beautiful, 3 story cabin that slept 36, on the ridge of a mountain just outside of Gatlinburg they rented for the week. It was absolutely gorgeous, the most beautiful cabin we've ever stayed in and I immediately thought of the different "LODGE's of LOVE" that I've been writing about the past few weeks as soon as we saw the place....wow.
When we walked inside the spacious living area with the huge fireplace (it had 3) and large kitchen and dining area on the first floor, i knew that i was in trouble...I could smell "new." I thought it was formaldehyde, but Mr. Hembree said he smelled the varnish on the logs, and they sure were shiny...and they were all over the place. They showed us around the cabin, which sure was more like a "Lodge" instead of "Little House on the Prairie." They took us downstairs where mine and HB's bedroom was...it had two large bunk beds made out of logs, and a double or queen size bed, and a love seat all in the bedroom. Our bathroom adjoined Emily Hembree's bathroom and it was really nice...but i knew i was going to have trouble staying in there. At first i thought i might try staying in Emily's room, they were so gracious to offer whatever i needed. Her room had a door to the outside, but i knew i wasn't going to be able to stay in there to sleep...it was just to "new." We got settled in and i opened a window in the bedroom and that really helped a ton. When it got to be bedtime, I did what I've often done on our "road trips," and i left the family inside, and bedded down in my sleeping bag in my car. It was very comfortable, on my middle seat, and thankfully it wasn't cold...that's what i was afraid of. One year we stayed in Gatlinburg during Dec. celebrating Hannah Beth's 13 birthday and we were staying in our camper that we no longer have:). I couldn't sleep inside the camper, (the heater was putting out a bunch of dust), and I slept outside in the van in 15 degree weather...and about froze to death. Thankfully, i slept pretty well that first night, and enjoyed the coziness of my car and spending time with the LORD reading my Bible and praying early the next morning. After getting up and getting ready for the day, we hung out inside the den are...with the door opened, and visited, and the kids played their guitars, and i pecked around on my mandolin, while Linda Hembree played the keyboard...they all are the true musicians while i struggle to play simply by ear. It was a lot of fun playing "Away in a Manger," "How Deep the Father's Love for Us," and some other tunes...but it wasn't too wise on my part to hang out inside. Later on, we went to eat lunch,seems like we were always eating or going to eat, and then walked around a little shopping area and looked at the really neat artwork I told you about earlier. That evening is when we went to see the show "The Miracle." We had a little bit of trouble managing our time...and were only 30 minutes late, after eating pizza up in Gatlinburg...we just missed the live animals for the nativity scene...no big deal:). It was really a good show, and i highly recommend it, and all the shows we went to...JESUS was truly lifted up in each one.
After the show, it was getting late, 10:00p.m. their time, I decided to go and sauna ( to get the chemicals out of me) where i usually do when we stay in Gatlinburg, and Hannah Beth rode home with the Hembree's. Where i sauna is on the mountain behind the main drag in Gatlinburg and you drive up Ski Mountain Rd to get there. Pretty curvy, but not too bad of a drive. I sauna at Highland Condominium's inside by their pool and the view of the mountains is gorgeous from there. They gave me permission years ago, so i just go in do my thing, and I'm out of there... it's really nice during the day, with the beautiful view, but this night it was dark, it was late, after 11:00 a.m. and when i got through saunaing and taking a shower, it was beginning to rain. I called HB to let her know i was leaving cause i didn't want them to be worried. Her voice mail answered and i left a message. As i started driving back down the mountain, it started dawning on me that i wasn't exactly sure how to get back to the cabin we were staying in...i had only driven there once or twice before, once at night, and once that day, and i was always following someone else. As i drove through the streets of Gatlinburg, and headed out Hwy 321 toward the cabin, i started praying, " LORD please help me find the little road sign that showed me where to turn off," and thankfully HE did. That was one hurdle...the cabin we were staying in was about a mile and a quarter up the mountain, and it sure was dark and curvy and i was driving slowly through the misting rain. I did pretty well until i got further on up, and it started looking unfamiliar. I backed up and decided to turn up "Antler Ridge Road" or something like that and it didn't look familiar in the dark...but it did look narrow, and it did look curvy, and it did look high up on the edge of that ridge. My "fear of heights," started kicking in and i started getting a little panicky. I was praying, "Hannah Beth, please answer the phone, cause i was lost, it was dark, and i had no way of finding them if she didn't answer her phone except to hunt and peck...and pray. I dialed her number and thank the LORD, she answered! Five minutes before that, Linda Hembree had suggested to Hannah Beth to keep her phone nearby just in case i called and thank the LORD HE was taking care of me. HE always does, sometimes i just have a little doubt:). HB put Josh, the Hembree's son, on the phone, and he started trying to tell me what to do...though he wasn't sure where i was, it was just comforting to hear their voices on the other end. As Josh held on and i got turned around off that narrow mountain road, and started easing back down, the phone started beeping and the battery was running out..for a brief moment i thought, "Oh no," and about that time, i turned on the road that led to our cabin, and it wasn't long before i was pulling into that big "LODGE of LOVE." I have never been so glad to be back to a "new" smelly place with familiar faces in my life. It was really scary out there in the dark, rainy night, on a mountain ridge by myself-well, me and the LORD:)...and i was so thankful to be back. The kids were up watching a movie with Josh's grandparent's, and it was past midnight when i got home. I was so glad to see them all...and I told Hannah Beth not to ever repeat that dumb thing her Mom had just done staying out that late and not knowing the way back. I was so thankful to be back, even if it was for a brief time, and i returned to my car, very gratefully to sleep for the night. That night it rained, and it rained, and it rained hard (i was so thankful it wasn't raining that hard when i was lost) and the wind blew hard. I could just see the cabin, and then my car just washing right off the side of the mountain. Thankfully it didn't, and the next morning i asked if they'd heard the wind blowing and the rain falling during the night. They didn't hear it inside the warm and cozy cabin where they all slept , but i sure had outside in my car. That's okay, it was GOD's place for me, and HE had kept me safe, inside my car, where HE dwelt with me.
As i thought about the events of last week, and what i was going to write this week, i started thinking about Mary and Joseph and there being no room in the inn for Mary to birth our Savior...and they had to manage outside in a dirty, smelly stable...I'm sure there was probably cow manure and all that good stuff that goes with animals...don't ever see that in the CHRISTmas stories. I wonder if Mary and Joseph ever felt sorry for themselves...i don't know. I kind of felt sorry for myself not being able to sleep inside that wonderful cabin and hang out more with the Hembree's and their parents and my daughter. But GOD had a different place for me at night and in the early morning,to be alone with HIM as HE, my "LODGE of LOVE," dwells inside of me. HE and i sure had some sweet time alone in that car, sitting in front of that big old cabin, with the rain pouring down. In fact, as I've shared before, my car has become a refuge for me, HE is our Refuge, from things that make me sick, so my body can rest from the chemicals and i can be recharged for the next day...sort of:). It's also a time that as much as I'd like to be fellowshipping with the folks inside, JESUS calls me aside to be alone with HIM and spend time with HIM in the quietness of my car.
As i was thinking about what to write, my favorite CHRISTmas story that I used to read to my kids when they weren't 17 and almost 19, came to mind, called "The Crippled Lamb." I've always loved that little made up story about the Crippled Lamb who couldn't keep up with other sheep when they followed the shepherd to greener pastures, and had to stay behind at the stable. He felt sorry for himself because he had to stay behind, but that very night, Baby JESUS was born in the stable, and the "Crippled Lamb" kept baby JESUS warm by snuggling up to HIM. Yes, it's a made up story, don't recall that being in Scripture, but the thought of it has been very true for my life as well as countless others. I am the "Crippled Lamb," and i often am not able to keep up and do the things that other folks do, like staying inside new cabins, shopping a bunch, or even hanging out in the wilderness for long periods of time, because of my "thorn." But, as CHRIST as shown me time and time again, including when i slept in the car in Gatlinburg, this is the time, that I can snuggle up to HIM, and HE to me, and I get to know HIM more dearly. I wouldn't trade that for being able to stay inside a "new" cabin or anything else. I had some really sweet time with the LORD out there in my car in the mornings as i waited for the rest of the family to arise, and even during the middle of the night when i couldn't sleep. One night the LORD woke me up, and there was the moon, not completely full, peeking down at me through the window of my car. Granted it wasn't too glamorous staying in the car when i had to get up and go "potty" with it pouring down rain, twice in the same night, but then i don't imagine the CHRISTmas story was as glamorous as we make it out to be either when we sing "Away in a Manger," or act out the CHRISTmas story such as in the play "The Miracle."
As i was thinking about what to write, and i thought about this long and hard...i hated being lost out in the dark rainy night, on a narrow curvy road, with the thought of not being able to communicate with anyone...not a good feeling. What a blessing it was when Hannah Beth answered that phone, and even though she couldn't tell me how to get back( Josh could have if i had to start all over), it was so comforting to have someone on the other end of that phone to talk to...it was scary being lost, and not knowing which way to go. I was so relieved when GOD brought that huge cabin in my view...it truly was like a "city set on a hillside for all to see," and i was so thankful to be brought safely home to the "Lodge of Love." Matthew 5:14 says, "You are the light of the world, a city set on a hillside cannot be hid." You know, i thought once again, about those who are outside of CHRIST, our "Lodge of Love," and they are walking around, driving around in the dark, "running a 100 miles an hour in the wrong direction," and they are lost, dying, and on their way to an eternity in Hell. You and I are the "city set on a hillside," to share CHRIST's love with them, and tell them the good news that CHRIST came into the world, died for our sins and rose from the dead and "Whosoever believes in HIM shall not perish but have everlasting life"John 3:16. And the very next verse is, "For GOD did not send HIS SON into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through HIM might be saved." We have the privilege of being used by CHRIST to point others to HIM, the LODGE of LOVE, and bring them safely in from the danger of the dark, lonely, and cold night of sin.
We also have the privilege of encouraging our brothers and sisters in CHRIST, who are in the "dark night of their soul," and just be there for them...like Josh and Hannah Beth were for me. We may not have the perfect words to say, but just being there and showing others that we love them, care for them, and are praying for them, helps them walk through those dark, curvy mountain roads, and make it safely to the "Lodge of Love," CHRIST HIMSELF, who alone can comfort, and give peace and be their "All in All."
I know I've shared some of these same things just recently but CHRIST keeps taking me back to the "Lodge of Love." Even as i lay inside my car and thought of that huge "Lodge of Love" right there in front of me, and all of those rooms filled with all that a person could ask for to make them comfortable and i couldn't enjoy them:), i thought of those rooms in our "LODGE of LOVE," CHRIST JESUS, and how they are filled with the treasures of HIMSELF, "WONDERFUL, COUNSELOR, MIGHTY GOD, EVERLASTING FATHER, PRINCE of PEACE," - everything and more we will ever need or want for now and all of eternity. I can enjoy HIM wherever i am, whether it's in my car, a luxurious mountain cabin, or a hot sauna late at night on a curvy mountain road... but HE's not just for me to enjoy or use or have a relationship with HIM, He wants to use me and you to share HIM with others, through the gospel and through HIS love, that others might believe in HIM, repent of their sins, and JESUS CHRIST might come and dwell inside their hearts.
A dear friend of mind sent me a video earlier this week of a young man that is definitely crippled from birth, but CHRIST is shining through his weakness, and dwells in that young man's heart. I'm sure his "thorn" has been the very thing GOD has used to draw that young man closer to HIMSELF and reveal HIMself to him and through him.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MslbhDZoniY
After watching it, i started thinking about the story of the Crippled Lamb. We all have something that GOD uses to draw us closer to HIM and with me it just happens to be my health issues, with you it may be something else...it may be the loss of a dear loved one, a broken relationship, the loss of your job, loss of health, loss of your home, struggling in your marriage, issues with family members or co-workers. Whatever it is...CHRIST wants to use it in our lives to draw us to HIM, to actually help us "Come Let Us Adore HIM," in a way that we can't when we have no struggles. HE who comes to "dwell in us," "the HOPE of GLORY", uses our adversity, our difficult times to show HIS dear love to us and reveal HIMself through us- these "weak vessels," "clay pots," to lead others to HIM...the SAVIOR of the WORLD.
You may have some things in your life like i do mine, that aren't "picture" perfect this CHRISTmas, but so did JESUS and his parents. I can relate to that line in "Away in a Manger," where it says, "no crib for a bed." I had "no cabin for a bed," but i sure am thankful for a car where i was able to sleep comfortably. Not what most folks picture when they go to Gatlinburg to spend a cozy time in the mountains. GOD is teaching me to be thankful for the places HE leads me, dwells in me, and reveals HIMself to me... places that this Crippled Lamb can snuggle up to my JESUS and experience HIS wonderful love to me, any time and any place.
The last night of our trip to Gatlinburg, it snowed up on the mountain, and from the pictures our friends sent us, it was beautiful up there at the cabin. HB and I missed the snow, my body had stood all it would from the beautiful "new" cabin, and we stayed in a "safer" motel for me the last night down in Pigeon Forge. Oh well, another picture of things not being so perfect, but i sure was thankful to get a good night's rest, with the balcony door opened in my room. Poor HB, I about froze her to death...i accidentally turned the heat off, and with the door open and temps in the low 30's, she got really cold. We hated we missed the snow up on the mountain, but the next morning, we enjoyed our tradition of eating at the Pancake Pantry there in Gatlinburg where i enjoy eating the buckwheat pancakes, and HB had an omelet i believe. After a quick breakfast, we had to get back that afternoon for HB's dance recital practice, we drove home through the mountains, along the rolling, cascading river, and saw the beautiful snow in the trees and higher elevations along the winding road that leads to Townsend. GOD is sooo good!
You, my dear friends and family, who take time out of your busy lives to read these emails and so often encourage me are such a blessing to my heart. I thank GOD for you all this CHRISTmas season. Thank you for honoring me, for encouraging me, and praying for me and my family ...and i do pray these emails will be a blessing to you in some way. I love you and pray that you and your dear family will have a wonderful CHRISTmas celebrating our dear SAVIOR's birth and love for us.
Merry CHRISTmas,
mitzi
"Away in a Manger"
The video below is not "picture perfect"- there are several pauses. But if you'll stay with this video of Kelly Nelon, her daughter, Amber, and the Bill Gaither Homecoming choir, JESUS CHRIST, our "HOPE of GLORY," will shine through the "imperfections," just as HE does in our lives. I hope and pray you heart will be blessed as mine was as i watched the video of "Away in a Manger."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wL6cn97LEhs&feature=related
" The manger is a symbol of what can happen when JESUS CHRIST resides inside us. The ordinary suddenly becomes extraordinary."
-Billy Hybels
