Blue Moon

This morning I caught the setting nearly-full moon that tonight will be the rare blue moon.

A blue moon is the second full moon that occurs within the same calendar month. The first full moon this month was on December 2. According to the Old Farmer's Almanac newsletter, a blue moon happens only every two and a half to three years.

The newsletter also says that the "expression seems to derive from the extremely rare, actually blue-tinged Moon caused by atmospheric layers of forest fire smoke or volcanic dust at just the right height and visual angle."

This morning's moon looks silver in the picture (above) I took with the regular setting and gold in the picture (below) I took with the telephoto setting.

By the time I got outside about 5:30 am, it was already descending into the branches of the trees on our west bank. After yesterday's cloudy and snowy weather, I was glad to be able to see it.

Seeing the bright orb of the moon light the night always reminds me of the first four verses in Psalm 8:

O LORD, our Lord,

how majestic is your name in all
the earth!

You have set your glory above the heavens.

Out of the mouth of babies and infants,

you have established strength because of your foes,

to still the enemy and the avenger.

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,

the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,

what is man that you are mindful of him,

and the son of man that you care for him?

That Psalm reminds me of God's creative power, his sustaining power over creation, and the link he has ordained between creation and man—the pinnacle of creation. It reminds me of God's covenantal care for his people.

The full moon also displays God's control over time and how he uses the moon to mark the months. Psalm 104:19 says:

He made the moon to mark the seasons;

the sun knows its time for setting.

At this time of year, when we bid farewell to the old year and welcome the new, the full moon reminds me of the progression of years. It makes me keenly aware of the need to instruct our children and our children's children in the ways of the Lord.

My prayer echoes that of Solomon's in Psalm 72, in which he prays that God will grant him wisdom and will grant blessing and deliverance to God's people. In verse 5, he connects the progression of time with the growth of faith in the hearts of God's people:

May they fear you while the sun endures,

and as long as the moon, throughout all generations!

Solomon's prayer acknowledges that the sun and the moon will not last forever. John's description of his vision in Revelation 21:22-23 reiterates their temporary nature as he beautifully conveys the glory of our final home:

And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty
and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the
glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.

As this day and this year draws to a close, we are one day and one year nearer to that great and final day of our Lord.

When you're out and about this evening, celebrating the end of 2009 and welcoming 2010, set your mind on things above and look for the blue moon.

Christmas Blessings!

My prayer is that you experience God's richest blessings of worship and fellowship as you celebrate Christ's first advent and anticipate His second!

As you remember the baby who laid on the wood of the manger, recall the man who died on the wood of the cross. He died to pay the penalty for our sins. As surely as the sun rises to shine on the glittering snow, He rose to conquer death and wash us whiter than snow.

And as surely as the sun rises each day, the Son will rise on day with healing in His wings. I will see Him with my own eyes. How my heart longs for that day!

Redundancy

"Devout nun" is redundant.

Stormy Wind

As I sit in front of a bright computer screen, inside a cozy home, the wind howls around this corner of the house and moans in the needles of the fir tree. In the pre-dawn darkness outside my window, the wind roars through the tops of trees like a freight train.

I have never enjoyed a snowstorm so much. For the first time I remember, I could watch the snow fall yesterday and I can listen listen to the wind howl today without worrying about my poor husband trying to drive through drifted roads and deliver mail. He has had the first three days of this week off work for deer season.

This was our fifth season hunting together. I began hunting with him four years ago when he bemoaned his lack of hunting partners. We've had a lot of quality time hunting together, watching the daylight come to the forest and hearing God's creatures skitter and sing in His creation. Yesterday morning, it was beautiful to watch the snow falling in the quiet woods.

On this final morning of the season, the wind is fierce and I have decided that I am finished hunting for this year. I shot a doe the day before yesterday, which then walked within Dave's range and he finished it off. He had harvested one earlier with his bow, from which we canned 50 pints of venison, so we have plenty of meat.

The wind howling around the house reminds me of this biblical imagery:

Praise the LORD from the earth,
you great sea creatures and all deeps,
fire and hail, snow and mist,
stormy wind fulfilling his word!

I love the Psalmist's assumption that the stormy wind is fulfilling God's word! The blowing wind reminds us that God is omnipotent and omnipresent--all powerful and all present. Like the wind blowing snow into cracks and crevices, God's word and will cannot be hindered. Its power sweeps away all obstacles and bends even the most stiff-necked tree.

Delighting in Deadlines

I used to delight in deadlines. They kept me focused and gave me direction. They made me feel as if I was breathing deeply in crisp mountain air.

Then came 2009.

I had many pressing deadlines. Personal and family concerns weighed heavily on me. I frequently felt unwell with health issues that required many doctor's appointments and tests. About halfway through the year, my work load increased exponentially. My sister with Down syndrome and early onset of Alzheimer's was placed in nursing care.

I did not delight in deadlines. I dreaded deadlines. I could not keep up with deadlines. I felt as if I was being strangled by an iron grip around my neck.

Feeling as if I must catch a breath, I submitted resignations for some responsibilities: church librarian, editor of the newsletter for Classis Central churches, Managing Editor of Mid-America's newsletter: the Messenger (effective next spring). A primary reason for giving up the Messenger was that my daughter expects a baby in April and I hope to care for this grandchild two days per week. I recognized that the number of my deadlines must be greatly reduced before then.

Before Thanksgiving I was able to complete two huge projects. I finished the last of the twenty-five lessons (with Teacher's Tips) in Not My Own: Discovering God's Comfort in the Heidelberg Catechism, which is the fifth-grade volume for the "Life in Christ" catechism curriculum being produced by First URC in Chino, CA. I completed a very rough draft of Matthew Marches On, the third in my series of four juvenile fiction novels about "Matthew in the Middle," using that novel to meet my NaNoWriMo goal of 50,000 words and becoming a NaNoWriMo winner for the fourth year in a row!

This week I submitted six articles for Christian Renewal, one over 1,000 words and another over 1,500! The next CR deadline is after Christmas. My next deadline for Mid-America is an editorial meeting in January.

Before the end of the year, I want to finish my book on early infant loss for Reformed Fellowship and I want to send a revised manuscript of Matthew Muddles Through to the publisher.

I still face deadlines, but they haven't been this viable for at least six months. I no longer feel as if I'm being strangled. I feel as if there's a tightness in my chest, but I can finally breathe.

I begin again to delight in deadlines.