My 2017 Christmas Wish List

"'Don't be Afraid!' he said. 'I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!'" Luke 2:10

What a shock when I opened our Christmas decorations. Instead of thrown willy nilly into a glad-Christmas-is-over box, each ornament was wrapped with care and love. I realized that because of my cancer diagnosis, I had cherished and packed each trinket in the realization that last Christmas could be my last Christmas.

But God, who ordained the day of my birth and the day of my death, allowed me another year. I'm doing great, my blood counts are normal, I'm still writing and speaking and marveling at the ministry and marriage Dan and I continue to enjoy together. 

". . . Every day of my life was recorded in your book.

 Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed."

 Psalm 139:16 

Cancer has opened doors I would not have opened on my own. For this, I thank God, embrace the gift and the lessons I wish I had learned sooner.  

Now I realize each day is an ornament not to be thrown into the trash or the I-can't-wait-until-this-day-is-done box. Every moment is treasured as a gently wrapped memory in the ornament box of my mind, for every single breath is a gift placed on my tree of life.

What have I learned on this journey? 

Here's my 2017 Christmas wish list:

I wish I had loved more and judged less. 

Judging people robs me of time and joy. 

None of us know the whole story in anyone's life, even our own.

 I wish I had smiled more because 

smiles make me and the people around me happy.

 I wish I never had a grumpy day. 

Grumpy is a waste of time.

 I wish my eyes and mind had never let in negative, immoral, violent, 

God-dishonoring media that destroys mind and spirit. 

Life is too short to dwell in the garbage. 

I wish I spent every day in the eternal instead of the worry. 

God's got this. 

He's not worried and 

He doesn't need me to worry for Him.

This Christmas I choose to make my wishes reality as I thank God for His abundant and eternal joy gifts to me:

I thank God for a blessed life spent

 cherishing Dan, our children and 12 grandchildren, 

extended family and friends which includes YOU.

I thank God for placing a hunger within me for Himself and His Word. 

Reading the whole Bible multiple times and

 looking to Jesus and His teachings as my moral compass protected me.

I'm thankful our travels gave me a world view of, and love for, all people.

I'm thankful I believe Jesus is my Lord and my Savior, and that 

I surrendered my life to Him for He is true to 

His promise of eternal life in Heaven and abundant life on earth. 

A win/win!!!

I'm thankful I know 

The Baby of Christmas, 

The Teacher in the Temple, 

The Savior on the cross, and 

The Lord Who rose from the dead. 

I'm thankful God tells us to not be afraid because 

He is with us always. 

He holds us in our troubles and 

He never lets go. 

I know because He holds me.

Merry Christmas dear ones. I have every plan to see you next year, but if I don't or you don't, that's good too if we love Jesus.

 Hang your ornaments with care. Each one matters.

Merry Christmas love and lots of Splashes of Serenity in 2018!

Warning: Don't Promote Your Book in an Ambulance!

Here's what not to do in an ambulance: Don't tell the EMT the name of my new book, We All Married Idiots, while he's inserting an IV. The dear man cracked up and I have three needle pokes to prove it.
It was comforting for my husband riding in the car behind observing everyone laughing in the ambulance. He figured I hadn't died. Phew!

Entering the ER, the EMT announced to the world, "She wrote a book and guess what it's called? We All Married Idiots!" It's pretty cool when your book is marketed in the emergency room by a kind EMT. I thank God for his compassion towards me and his passion for a book about idiots. (BTW, the EMTs were wonderful and skilled. My teeny veins were the issue.)

Don't worry. I'm all right. But for 15 minutes I thought my days on earth were done. Sudden and severe chest pain prompted a 911 call. My goal to never ride in an ambulance was laid to rest. A day in the ER laughing and crying through Marley and Me, while being poked by needles and skinned alive by the tape adhering a dozen heart monitor stickers to my body ended with the diagnosis of an esophogal spasm--an uncommon event that has the same symptoms as a heart attack (and should be treated like a heart attack--because it might be one).

I'm fine and I'm thankful. Thankful for John 3:16, "For God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life."

Do you believe that? I do. And that belief and faith gives me assurance that had today been the day this idiot left earth, I'd be alive in Heaven celebrating Christmas with Jesus. What a blessed thought! It really is a splash of serenity to be ready to die.

Are you ready? That chest pain was sudden. It came with no warning. One day it will happen to each of us. Our life on earth will end.

In my book, We All Married Idiots, I make the case that we really are all idiots, but we don't have to be fools. Psalm 14:1 says "A fool says in his heart, 'There is no God.'" It's all right to be an idiot, but don't be a fool.

Tests proved my heart is physically healthy. My belief in Jesus assures my heart is spiritually healthy. I'll continue an abundant life on earth knowing eternal life awaits!

I hope you have the best Christmas of your life and believe in the Baby in the Manger. He was no idiot. He is God. And on the cross He took the punishment for our sins so we idiots could be reconciled to God. Thanking God for His care and His great love for me and for you.

Merry Christmas!

Elaine