A Way in a Manger

A Way in A Manger
Ann Dunlap, December 23, 2004

“Away in a manger,“ the choirs all sing,
As we celebrate the birth of our King.
I love the old carol and how it reminds me
That Jesus came down to seek and to find me.
A way in that manger was made for us all
To come to our God despite mankind’s fall.
A way in a manger to be reconciled;
A way to salvation in one little child.
The Way, in a manger where cattle were fed
The Way, the Messiah, the triune godhead.
The manger, so lowly, but here was the start
Of redemption for man, new life to impart.
A way from the manger, which led to a tree
On a hill called Mt. Calvary where He died for me.
The Way, lying sweetly in His mother’s lap;
Born to become the bridge that would cover sin’s gap.
“Away in a manger,” no bed could they find,
For the Maker and Savior of all of mankind.
From manger to cross, then up from the grave;
The true Way has come to seek and to save.
"Away in a Manger" now is our story,
To tell to the world of God's love and His glory.

Thanksgiving Poem

Thanksgiving
Ann Dunlap, May 23, 2004

“Though the fig tree should not blossom

and there be no fruit on the vines,

Though the yield of the olive should fail

and the fields produce no food,
Though the flock should be cut off from the fold

and there be no cattle in the stalls,
Yes I will exult in the Lord,

I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.
The Lord God is my strength,

and He has made my feet like hinds’ feet,
And makes me walk on my high places."
Habakkuk 3:17-19

Not for what You give me, Lord,
Nor what I now may own;
Not for daily circumstance,
Nor blessings yet unknown.
Just for who You are to Me:
Redeemer, Savior, Friend,
May humble thanks flow from my heart ~
And to Your throne ascend.

Thanksgiving

Hard to believe that Thanksgiving is upon us once again. Usually on Thanksgiving weekend, we're busy decorating the house. But this year we're in the middle of an ongoing kitchen remodel, that's been thwarted again and again by back injury, mis-measured countertops and various other unforeseens. So since I'm not in the middle of getting ready to decorate, I'm focusing more on what there is to be thankful for. I've decided that as a family we need to look outside of ourselves this holiday, and show our thankfulness to others. So we're going to bake cookies, and go to the local police and fire departments to share cookies and thankfulness with those that put their lives on the line for our safety every day. I hope it will teach Elizabeth to have a thankful respect for those that are so selfless.
So much is going on. A good friend recently passed away. A good friend, my first Christian friend actually, is getting a divorce. Our old church is building a new building. My mom is having chronic little health problems. And we have a new granddaughter! Those things all remind me to be thankful for our health, my marriage, my new church, and my family. God continues to bless my life, even when I'm so undeserving and unfaithful. And so this Thanksgiving, I pray that I will be even more mindful of His tender care of me, and for the love that He so richly lavishes on my day by day.
And I'm thankful, of course, for all those that are part of my life every day. Thanksgiving blessings!

Ann

HUMID!!!

It's enough to make me believe in global warming...OK, maybe not THAT much, but it's been amazingly hot and humid here. With no air-conditioning in our downstairs, we've been spending a lot of time upstairs or at the pool. Anxiously waiting for autumn...

Problems posting comments

I've received several emails from people telling me that they have been unsuccessful at posting comments on the blog. I believe that's because they don't have Google accounts. I've changed my settings to allow posts from people without accounts, so hopefully this will solve the problem.
By the way, you can also subscribe to this blog, so that you'll get an email whenever there's a new post, by me or by anyone else. If you'd like to do that, scroll to the bottom and click on the link that says Subscribe to: Post Atom.
Post on!
Ann

Woman's Best Friends

This past February, our best friend of almost 15 years died. His name was Max, and he was a Beagle/Rottweiler mix. We had been looking for a Beagle when we came upon a pet shop that had him. The mix sounded so unusual we had to at least go see him. He was the cutest little puppy with some very big feet. We thought he'd be a huge guy, hence the name Max. Well, Max never did grow very big. He had a Rottweiler's personality - loyal, sweet, great with kids - in the body of a mutant Beagle - barrel-chested, short legs, and where'd he get those ears? Max joined our family when we found out that having children was physically impossible. He filled an enormous hole in my heart, often licking tears from my face when no one was looking. His favorite word was "Go", and so he was a very well-travelled dog. He rode across the country twice, and went to places like the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone and Death Valley.

About a year and a half before he died, we began to realize that he wouldn't be around forever, so we began sizing up replacements. I had always wanted a Golden Retriever, and so Max got a new baby sister, Maisy. She's a honey of a dog, with definite "Max-ability". Max taught her the fine art of knowing your territory, and thanks to him, she never runs off - she knows her yard, even though we have no fences. She learned that obedience is well-rewarded, and that even though there's lots of people in the world, her people are the best. While they were never really playmates because of their age difference, they were nice companions. So when he died, poor Maisy was really lonely. She's been a very needy dog anyway, preferring any kind of touch from us to any other thing under the sun. But she got a little distructive - mostly if someone forgot to latch the trash cabinet. So off we went again, this time searching the pounds to see who we could rescue. We found Bailey (AKA Isabella, Bella, Sasha, and Jeff's favorite - "DOG") at a shelter. We know next to nothing about her, but at age 2 mos, she's completely house-broken and sleeps all night (soundlessly!!) in her crate. Maisy is beside herself to have this bundle of energy for a playmate, and Lizzie loves having Bailey's crate in her room so she has a roommate.

When most people think of our family, they see a family of 3, but really there are five of us: Jeff, Ann, Lizzie, Maisy and Bailey. The Dunlaps. A family.

I remember a commercial jingle for a pet store from a few years back. It went something like: "You gotta have a dog my friend, a D-O-G, oh gee you gotta have a dog".

Whoever said there's no truth in advertizing?!

Lizzie the Fish

This summer has been, well, weird. I had carpal tunnel surgery on both hands in June, and have been at home recuperating. So we haven't been able to do much, due to inability and shortage of funds. So Lizzie was enrolled in swim lessons at a wonderful facility here in Fort Wayne. She's been desperately afraid of swimming since a "near-drowning" incident at the tender age of 3 in the pool of a friend (remember that Teresa?). So the thought of swimming lessons was a little overwhelming to her, but she's been transformed and now can float (back and front), and can actually cover a little water "swimming". She's a whole new kid in the pool! She's gone from hanging on to my bathing suit to jumping in by herself. It's been so fun to watch her gain confidence and ability. Now she says "Yes!" to every invitation to a pool event, and doesn't even ask me if I'm coming along.

Motherhood is full of dichotomies. Our job as moms is to nurture our kids and help them develop new skills and confidences. But if we do our job well, we essentially put ourselves out of a job as we watch our kids become more and more independent of us.

The letting go wouldn't be as hard if the holding on wasn't as precious...

Great news!

Yesterday morning Lizzie told me that while she was cleaning her room, she prayed and asked Jesus to come live in her heart. And yes, there are two great news items in that sentence - a clean room, and a clean heart. We hadn't even been talking to her much about salvation (sad that we maybe talk to her more about cleaning her room!). This came totally out of the blue. There have been times that she's talked about stuff like this before, but it's usually been a conversation prompted by us or church or Vacation Bible school or some such thing.
So it seems that in one day, God chose to answer two of my most fervent prayers - Lizzie's salvation, and yes, a clean room.
Here's a poem, totally unrelated. Hope it blesses you!
Ann

Creation
The beauty of a sunset,
The vastness of the sea,
The splendor of the mountains
Cannot compare with Thee.
The riches of the monarchs,
All armies and their might
Are poverty and impotence
When thought of in Your Light.
And yet You have revealed Yourself
In Nature, great and small;
Your holy, perfect attributes
Are represented, all.
Help me, Lord, to seek You,
And when I seek, I’ll find,
Creator in Creation -
In majesty enshrined.

Welcome to my blog

Hi there. Got me a blog. A place to share my poetry, favorite stuff, family updates and whatnot. Hopefully it will be a place where you share stuff with me, too.
For my first entry, here are a few of my favorite quotes from some of my favorite writers. Hope they interest/move/touch you.
Ann

"God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him."John Piper

"Faith is deliberate confidence in the character of God whose ways you may not understand at the time." Oswald Chambers

"Resurrection is a far greater evidence of the power and love of God than the mere aborting of catastrophe." Elisabeth Elliott

"There is no pit so deep that He is not in." Betsy Ten Boom

"A cup brimfull of sweetness cannot spill even one drop of bitter water, no matter how suddenly jarred." Amy Carmichael

"I hold one single sentence out of God's Word to be of more certainty and of more power than all the discoveries of all the learned men of all the ages." C. H. Spurgeon

"Earth's crammed with heaven, And every common bush afire with God;But only he who sees, takes off his shoes..." Elizabeth Barrett Browning

"I lay my 'whys' before Your Cross, in worship knowing, mind too numb for thought, heart beyond all feeling. And worshipping, realize that I, knowing You, don't need a 'why'."
Ruth Bell Graham

"When did the validity of the Eternal Word rest on the mood of one of His poor children?" Elisabeth Elliott

"Only one life, 'twill soon be past;only what's done for Christ will last." Author Unknown