STXWM Blog

I come from a family of singers. None of us are professionals, although my dad and my brother might have been able to make a living in front of a microphone, but we have the innate ability to connect almost any word or phrase to a song or make one up on the spot. Growing up any occasion was the perfect occasion to sing. Loudly.

My life was a near-constant narration through song. My parents would bust through my door in the morning with a rousing chorus of “Wake up wake up! You little sleepy head. Get your little buns into gear!” Trying to get all five of us out the door sounded like a cacophony of shoes stomping and jackets zipping and a sing song reminder to “Lock the doors and turn the lights
down low.” Bedtime never disappointed either. Many nights, my dad would sing, “Goodnight, sweetheart, now it’s time to go,” and then he would say, “To bed, silly head!” And kiss and tickle me until I was too exhausted to protest.

If our everyday life was surrounded by song, holidays were like the Olympics! My mom would play Brenda Lee Christmas classics in the kitchen and the tunes and lyrics would infectiously fill every room and mind until we were all singing some variation of a Christmas song. When I was a little kid, my brother was particularly excited about “Jingle Bells Batman Smells Robin Laid an Egg,” much to the chagrin of my parents.

I don’t know if she made it up or when it began to be sung in our home, but my favorite song came from my mom. It was about Christmas cookies and holiday hearts and a little child begging mommy to make more. All five of us would sing it together in varying keys and abilities while we made our family’s version of Christmas cookies: Ritz crackers stuck together with
peanut butter then dipped in melted chocolate and lovingly drowned in sprinkles.

“Christmas cookies and holiday hearts, that’s the way a holiday starts.” My mom would diligently melt bricks of chocolate while my dad laid out yards of wax paper to hold our mountains of cookies.” Mommy, mommy make a little more all the children say.” My sister and I would glue crackers together with peanut butter while my brother dipped them in chocolate. “Mommy
mommy make a little more. Soon its Christmas day. Hey!” We would spill sprinkles and drizzle chocolate and crunch on cookies until the table overflowed. “Goody goody yum yum. Goody goody yum yum. Goody goody yum yum YUM!”

We would sing and make cookies for what felt like entire days and I worried there would be a peanut butter shortage! My sister’s cookies always looked the most beautiful because she was so creative and patient. Mine would crack under the pressure of too much peanut butter and an unhealthy amount of sprinkles while my brother would eat more than he made. Our parents would sneak kisses between making cookies, and we would beg to hear their stories of Christmas past.

As a mother now myself I can appreciate the love and intentionality my own parents put into creating such sweet moments. Did they know they were creating core memories? Did they know that Ritz crackers, peanut butter, and chocolate would create a legacy of love and laughter? Probably not, but they did know that time spent together in love has everlasting effects. When we operate in love, we are conduits for God’s love to enter the world and transform not only those around us, but ourselves as well. 1 John 4:16 says, “God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God.” Verse 19 continues with, “We love because He first loved us.”

The Christmas season can be full of wonder, awe, and joy. It can also be full of fear, sorrow, and grief. As sisters in Christ let us choose love. Live, abide, dwell in love, and allow it to change you from the inside out. Then take that love and sow it. Sow it into your spouse, your kids, or your extended family. Sow it into the grouchy coworker, the overworked retail employee,
and the underpaid food service worker. Sow love without thinking about what you get in return.

How do you sow love? Well, it could be Christmas cookies and holiday hearts, but Paul shares a more holistic view in his letter to the church in Corinth.

“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” 1Corinthians 13:4-7

My first Christmas while serving abroad was in a country with less than a 3% population of professing Christians. We had been there six months and I was struggling with deep culture shock, immense homesickness, and infertility. A family we worked with invited us over to their home for dinner a few days before Christmas, and when we arrived, they had purchased
everything to make my family’s Christmas cookies. I wept in graciousness and joy, and together, we shared in the tradition of making cookies, telling stories, and singing songs. A simple tradition sowed in love decades before reaped precious benefits years later not only for myself but for those that chose to love and bring a bit of home to me.

Fast forward to this year. Christmas music is playing, my husband is laying out wax paper for chocolate-dipped cookies, and my toddlers are eagerly smearing peanut butter onto Ritz crackers while I teach them a song about children begging their mommy for Christmas cookies and holiday hearts. More sprinkles are spilled than used, a batch (or two) of chocolate has been
burned, and there are a few tears shed at those who are no longer with us. Sorrow and joy can simultaneously fill a space. This season of Christmas, abide in love and allow King Jesus to sow and reap through your surrendered heart. And maybe lift your voice to a song or two as well.

Lord, I pray that we can lay aside all that the world says is important and worship you. Let us adore you in the mundane and the exciting. I pray for all the women reading this today and ask that you would meet us all where we are and lovingly take our hands and lead us along side you. Give us your eyes for the world around us, Your heart for our neighbors, and a peace
everlasting. In King Jesus’ name. Amen.

MaKenzie V. is a global worker who has faithfully been serving the unreached in the Arab World while growing her family. Almost every moment of the day is spent chasing Jesus and her toddlers- usually with a cup of hot tea or coffee in hand. She enjoys learning languages, deep belly laughs, and connecting with others where God has them.