2015 White Family Christmas Letter

December 2015

Greetings Friends and Family,

Merry Christmas from The White House! =)  It is so amazing to think that 2015 is nearing its completion, and that a new year is about to begin.  Time passes by quickly.  Remember when it took “forever” for a whole year to pass?!

Marcelo is in 1^st grade this year, and loves reading, tinkering, and is very detailed.  He is very determined in most everything he does, or doesn’t do.  He played his first team sport this year, and has since decided he plans to be a professional soccer player.  Obviously, he ended up loving soccer!

Ethan is in the 4^th grade this year, and also loves reading, art, music, and sports.  He is detailed as well, and this particularly shines in his drawings or art projects.  He is also a gifted athlete.  He is currently playing basketball, played soccer earlier this year, and dreams of being a professional football player.  Both boys learned how to play chess this year, and I’m amazed at their ability to strategize.

Although Mario has been a pastor for over 10 years, this year he pursued becoming a licensed minister with the Assemblies of God.  In addition to being on the pastoral staff at our church, he oversees a counseling ministry at the church, and has his own private counseling practice in a nearby town.  He is the lead pastor for our 5pm service on Sundays, and we love being a part of our church and community.  He also had the opportunity to climb Mt. Adams this year, and hopes to climb Mt. Rainer in the near future! Michelle continues teaching Spanish to elementary aged students, and leading a Summer Enrichment program through our church’s preschool.  A highlight for her continues to be leading a week long Missions Emphasis week for elementary aged students, sharing about Unreached People Groups (UPG) and praying for our church’s adopted UPG’s.

More than anything, we are thankful to the Lord for His great gift of salvation. Because of Jesus, we no longer need to be separated from God.  This Truth offers us hope daily, in both the good times and the hard. It is our deepest desire that you each know God’s immense love for you. Whether or not you know Him, may this year mark a newness in your understanding of His love for you.  May this be true for our family as well.

Sincerely,

Mario, Michelle, Ethan and Marcelo White

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Almighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.”         Isaiah 9:6

Las Posadas

As many of you know I have taught Spanish for years.  Currently I teach for elementary students, and I was searching for a simple way to share with them about Las Posadas.  I used several story books and handouts, but also felt inspired to write this poem.  Enjoy!  And Feliz Navidad!

A child dressed as Joseph, a child dressed as Mary

And many young travelers more….

Walk house to house looking for shelter

Waiting for an innkeeper to open his door

Those outside sing can they come in?

Those inside sing  “no room in the inn”

Night after night continues the drama

Nine nights in a row they search for Posada

The path sometimes long, the path sometimes short,

Luminarias lighting their way

Over and over they are told there’s no room

And the pilgrims have nowhere to stay

Those outside sing can they come in?

Those inside sing  “no room in the inn”

Night after night continues the drama

Nine nights in a row they search for Posada

At last there is hope --- an innkeeper says yes,

And shelter the couple has found

Candy and food, piñatas and fun

Songs of joy can be heard all around

Those outside sing can they come in?

Those inside sing  “Yes, please come in”

Night after night continues the drama

Nine nights in a row they search for Posada

We each are the innkeeper guarding our heart

Will we let the Christ Child come in?

He offers us life, wants us to be whole,

Only He can forgive us of sin.

The God of Creation asks can He come in?

We must decide what we’ll answer Him.

Night after night continues the drama

Until everyone’s heard He is our Posada

The Arrival of Advent

I am so excited for Advent to begin today.  I enjoy pausing in the midst of all the hustle and bustle to really think about what Advent really is and means.  The word “Advent” means “the arrival of a notable person, thing, or event.”  For those who believe Jesus is the Messiah, Advent is all about the waiting, hoping, and preparation for His arrival. 

As I ponder the characters in the Christmas story I wonder about how they were waiting, hoping, and preparing.  It’s not unlike my own story. Or maybe yours. Aren’t we all waiting for something? Hoping for something?  Preparing for something?  For me it used to be waiting until I found someone I wished to marry and spend the rest of my life with.  Would I ever meet him?  Or, I hoped, by some miracle my dad would be cured of his Louis Gehrig’s disease.  Or, I prepared for my son’s birth…thinking he would follow the family trend of being born weeks early…only to have him be two weeks late.  Waiting is never fun.  It’s hard. It’s work.  It takes encouragement and determination to hold on. To not let go.

I’m sure Isaiah had hoped he’d see the Messiah come and fulfill all that he had prophesied.  My guess is the shepherds were encouraged (along with being scared) that the long awaited Messiah was really finally coming.  I think Mary held tight to the fact that someday others would finally see that her hoping in the Lord was honorable.  So honorable, that she became the mother of the Messiah, the Savior.  She endured shame and rejection, but clung to what she knew to be true.

May I continue to do the same.  Hold tight to what I know to be true.  Keep hoping when it seems impossible.  And prepare.  Prepare for what is yet to come.  Prepare my heart for what matters most.  Prepare my children by investing in them.

I wanted to share with you a few simple things we’ll be doing this season.  We’ll be lighting advent candles each week (beginning today), and then the fifth candle will be lit on Christmas Day.  Each means something significant.  In the past, I’ve printed coloring sheets for the boys to color the candles instead of lighting real ones.  We’ve also made a paper plate wreath, and cut out three purple and one pink circle to set tea lights on.  This year I found an advent candle stand at a second hand shop.  So, we’ll light the appropriate candles each week, and talk about its meaning.  I found some simple prayers I’m posting on our wall by our dining table to help us remember.

I find it’s so easy to get caught up all that our society says about Christmas.  And we have to be intentional about slowing down, pausing to remember what’s true, and taking time to ponder it and be encouraged by it.  The truth is that Jesus IS Truth (John 14:6). He is our Savior, the long awaited Messiah.  We might spend our whole lives waiting in lines, hoping for something to change.  Whether it’s hoping and waiting for the little things or big things…it still drains us.  Leaving us thirsty.  But the only thing that can truly satisfy is Jesus (Matt. 11:28). Only He has the power to rescue us from the kingdom of darkness (Col. 1:13). Only He can breathe hope and joy and love into us that is eternal.

May you, along with our family, pause this season to be filled up.  To remember, and refocus, re-invite our Savior in.

Michelle

p.s., here are the prayers we’ll be using this year:

Candle 1 (purple) This is the candle of hope, aka the prophecy candle.  Prayer: Come Lord Jesus fill my heart with hope.

Candle 2 (purple) This is the candle of peace, aka the Bethlehem candle, as well as the candle of preparation. Prayer: Come Lord Jesus fill my heart with peace.

Candle 3 (pink or rose) This is the candle of joy, aka the Shepherd’s candle.  Prayer: Come Lord Jesus fill my heart with joy.

Candle 4 (purple) This is the candle of love, aka the Angel’s candle. Prayer: Come Lord Jesus fill my heart with love.

Candle 5 (white) This is the Christ candle. Prayer: Come, let us adore him.  Jesus, the Savior, has been born!

Here's a simple coloring sheet of the candles:

http://www.freefunchristmas.com/christmas-coloring-pages/advent-wreath-coloring-page/

Homemade Resurrection Eggs

This is going to be our activity this week.  I'll keep you posted as to how it goes...and try to take a photo of our eggs once we make them.  Thought I'd share this before we do it...in case of you are interested in doing it with your kids as well.  Happy Easter!

Preschool  Easter Activity

Thriving Family April 2012

Retell and celebrate the Resurrection story with your child by creating a preschool version of “Resurrection eggs.” Gather six plastic eggs, each a different color. Place the following items inside, one item per egg: bread crumb, paper cross, strip of cloth, rock and piece of candy. One egg will remain empty. As you tell the Resurrection story, let your child open the eggs. Explain each item in the following order:

1.       Bread crumb: Jesus ate dinner with His friends. (Luke 22:14-15)

2.       Cross: The next day, Jesus died on the Cross. (John 19:17-18)

3.       Strip of cloth: He was wrapped in cloth and placed in a tomb. (John 19:40)

4.       Rock: A stone was placed in front of the tomb. (Matthew 27:59-60)

5.       Empty egg: Jesus’ friends came to the tomb and saw the stone had been moved. The tomb was empty! (Luke 24:1-3)

6.       Candy: Jesus is alive. That’s the sweet surprise of Easter. (Matthew 28:5-6)

Once you’ve finished sharing the Resurrection story with your child, encourage him/her to use the eggs to tell the story in his/her own words. 

Other resources:

www.thrivingfamily.com

www.jellytelly.com

Good Friday thoughts

Isaiah 53:3-4

The Message (MSG)

 ^2-6The servant grew up before God—a scrawny seedling, 
   a scrubby plant in a parched field.
There was nothing attractive about him, 
   nothing to cause us to take a second look.
He was looked down on and passed over, 
   a man who suffered, who knew pain firsthand.
One look at him and people turned away. 
   We looked down on him, thought he was scum.
But the fact is, it was our pains he carried— 
   our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us.
We thought he brought it on himself, 
   that God was punishing him for his own failures.
But it was our sins that did that to him, 
   that ripped and tore and crushed him—our sins!
He took the punishment, and that made us whole. 
   Through his bruises we get healed.
We're all like sheep who've wandered off and gotten lost. 
   We've all done our own thing, gone our own way.
And God has piled all our sins, everything we've done wrong, 
   on him, on him.

Jesus, forgive me for only barely understanding all that it is you did for me.  That you not only carried my sins, but the whole worlds.  I cannot even begin to imagine how horrible and heavy, thick and rancid, emotional and overwhelming that must have been.  When I'm carrying my own sin around it distorts my vision, creates physical presences such as headaches and muscle's hurting, can give gloom to my day and my being.  It can cripple me at times. And left to linger it eats away at me.  Oh, the disgusting thought that you must have felt similar things....while baring the sin of not just one man....but all mankind....and not just one sin, but a lifetime of sins.  And none your own.  You had never known the horror and separation it brings from life, from God.  You had never sinned. And yet our sin separated you from God the Father...because that's what sin does. It separates. It divides.

You continued to bare our sin even when people mocked you. Put thorns on your head. Beat you. Humiliated you.  You could have changed your mind at any time. These weren't your sins to carry.  You could have called the wrath of God down on those who hurt you, who despised you.  You could have asked the angels to attend you. But you didn't. You continued on to the very end....so you could say, "It is finished." So the curse could be BROKEN.  That we could have the opportunity of being freed from the curse of sin and death. Something we could never do on our own.

I am overwhelmed at what you did for me. For all of us. Thank you. Thank you.

I desire to live my life for you. I truly do.  And at times I find hard.  And much of the time I find I am distracted by the world around me.  But I want to live for you.  Please help me. Help me to lean on your Holy Spirit.  Help me to be focused and intentional about how I live me life. And when my emotions blind me, give me clarity.  I am Yours, and I desire to live for You.

A Poem about Doris Johnson (my grandma, and my children's Great Grandma)

When I think of Nana,

I think of a woman with many names:

Doris, Dode, Mom, Nana & GG.

I think of a woman who loved her family greatly.

When I think of Nana,

I think of a Matriarch,

a hen mothering her chicks,

wondering how all her children are,

and saying a prayer for wherever they are.

When I think of Nana,

I think of split pea soup with ham,

pizza parties, dilly bars, and ice cream.

I think of gnomes, a hidden key, and many a family gathering.

When I think of Nana,

I recall road trips to Ellensburg & California,

camping with her & Papa in the camper,

the smell of Downy, and my surprise at her false teeth.

When I think of Nana,

I remember feeding horses on neighborhood walks,

Harry her neighbor, hiding when delivering May Day flowers,

her & Papa staying with us kids when my parents traveled,

Missy being born on the couch.

When I think of Nana,

I will always think of a woman that loved her family,

Someone who enjoyed visiting, holding little ones,

singing old church songs, and excited to someday live in Heaven.

She is there now, and she is happy.

She is singing with her Savior, & holding her husband's hand.

Her body is young and able,

and she prays that we will all join her there one day.

This is what I think of when I think of Nana.

Not Giving Up

Oh, the joys of parenting! Monday the verse at our mom's group was Galatians 6:9, "Let us not grow weary of doing good for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."  It was encouraging us moms to keep instilling good virtues into our children; to keep sharing with them about the Lord, His Word, and how that plays out into our everyday lives; to not give up...even when it sounds like we're a broken record telling our kids to put away their shoes, or be kind to one another, etc.

That verse has continued to play in my mind a lot this week.  We all have those moments (sometimes more often than not) that just feel overwhelming or frustrating. 

Today at the grocery store I had a moment where I am proud to say I feel like I did the right thing, and I think my kids learned a lesson! (Hooray....because I can also attest to that is not always the case for myself or my kids). They were having a hard time listening and obeying the whole shopping experience. Running, hiding, and in particular sitting on the grocery racks & then again on a bunch of soda cans that were for sale.  They had already been scolded, taken a time out, etc.  We went out to the car (me frustrated) and as I loaded the car with the groceries I felt like God gave me an idea.  I then proceeded to have another chat with my kids about how it was not only them being disobedient to me, but being disrespectful to the store owners, workers, and other shoppers. Then I had them walk back into the store and apologize to the checkout clerk we had been with earlier.  They became very serious, I think perhaps a little nervous. They apologized, sharing what it was specifically that they had done to be disrespectful, and then asked for forgiveness. I must say I was not anticipating the look of shock on the clerks' face, nor that of those in line.  But he forgave them, and my kids went into the next store with me much more helpful and obedient.  =)

It is my hope that my boys will grow up being respectful of other people and their property. The good news about Galatians 6:9 is it says we'll reap a harvest if we don't give up.  So, bit by bit we'll keep "planting" and I'm looking forward to the "harvest" when they don't need me to remind them of the right thing to do. In the mean time...may the Lord continue to help me "not give up" because there are for sure times that I feel that way.

Blessings on all of you! 

Michelle