The Other Side of the Fire

I’m happy to welcome Dianne E. Butts, the author of the second chapter of A Ruby Christmas. Dianne introduced Ruby to an interesting character who taught her how to trust God and begin to heal from her grief.

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In A Ruby Christmas, my chapter takes place in Colorado and includes bikers. My brother, Fred, rode a Harley Davidson. He bought it just before he went into the Marine Corp in 1974 and left it with a friend of his while he was gone. When he’d come home on leave, he would go get it and ride.

He gave me my first motorcycle ride (on an old Honda, before he got the Harley. I never got a ride on the Harley). When I was old enough to get a driver’s license, I got a motorcycle too and I’ve been riding ever since.

Fred’s birthday was December 14th. Mom would never allow us to set up the Christmas tree or decorate the house until after his birthday because she did not want him to get cheated out of his birthday celebration.

On June 23, 1977, Fred was home on leave and was riding his Harley when a drunk driver pulled out in front of him. He died at the scene. He was 22 years old. 

This connects with me with the Ruby story because Ruby and her dad are grieving her mom’s death—even eight years later. This year will be 36 Christmases without my brother, but my Mom still doesn’t set up her Christmas tree until after December 14th. We still miss him.

This year I also had a motorcycle accident – on June 9th. I survived my crash, although my motorcycle was totaled. 

I remember after Fred died my mom wrote a poem to God about how God’s son, Jesus, had died too. She was grateful God gave her a son for a little while. 

I’m glad Jesus came so that we can have life beyond death when we trust Jesus as our Savior and that we can look forward to seeing our saved loved ones again. For those grieving the loss of a loved one this Christmas, as our Ruby is, I hope this brings them hope and comfort, and restores joy to their Christmas.

The theme of my chapter in Ruby is that there is life on the other side of the fire, life that would not exist if we didn’t go through the fire.

My favorite Scripture verse after I came to know Jesus as Savior has been 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (NIV 1984).

 More about Dianne

www.DianneEButts.com  

www.DeliverMeBook.com

Chapter 2

 

An Advent Attitude

Philippians 2:5-13

This isn’t a traditional Christmas passage, but it contains the heart of the Christmas message. 

Christmas is about the birth of a baby. The birth of The Baby. The birth of God who took the humble position of a slave and died a criminal’s death.

There’s a lot to ponder here, but Paul’s primary message is that we should have the same attitude that Jesus did. The attitude that brought Him to the manger. So what is the Christmas attitude? He gave up His privileges and became humble.

My mother always made Christmas special for her children. It was a magical time with smells, tastes and sights that only appeared during that season. We strung popcorn on the tree, baked cookies and sang carols. And of course, we couldn’t wait to open presents on Christmas morning. The way we celebrated Christmas was one way I knew I was loved. I also learned to think I was special. 

I am special. Not just because my parents thought so, but because God has chosen to save me. Because Jesus humbled Himself to die on the cross for me. He did it in obedience to God. 

So I must be willing to give up my privileges in obedience to God. Don’t expect everything to go my way. Decorate the tree and house to please my son. Let my daughter choose the menu. Open my house to people who need to see the love of Christ, even if they’re not my favorites.

These are small ways to imitate Jesus this season. I’m sure there are much more important ways that He wants me to obey Him and ways He wants to change my attitude. So this season, I will be asking God how He wants to change my attitude to be like His. By His grace, God is already working in me, giving me the power and desire to please Him.

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In the next two weeks, I’m going to be sharing with you one of the privileges God has given me recently. I’ve participated with some talented writers to author a book about a girl named Ruby whose father sends her on a quest to find pieces for a nativity scene. During her travels she learns a lot about herself and the God who loves her. Our publisher, WriteIntegrity Press, will be publishing one chapter of the book each day. I’ll post a link to the chapter each day here, along with a devotional by me or by one of the other authors. Look for my chapter next week and in the meantime, guess where I sent Ruby. I hope you enjoy the book.

Ruby Joy Buckner, cowgirl, has never left the Lone Star State, but at her father’s request, she takes her faithful canine companion and travels the world in search of Nativity pieces. As Ruby collects the pieces, she also collects a few unexpected surprises, including an awareness of the beauty in other cultures, and quite a menagerie of new friends, thanks in part to Yippee Ti Yi Yo who charms everyone they meet.

  

Ruby’s budding awareness of life outside Texas opens her eyes to a world of whimsy, and the Nativity pieces she collects are unusual. Will her father approve her eclectic collection … and the changes that travel brought to Ruby’s life?

Chapter One

 
Meet the author J.A. Marx.

My Solid Rock

2 Sam 22:2-3

My friend Jan has a stone named Ebenezer. She picked up the rock during a hard trial as a reminder that God is her help. You can read about it on her blog Jewels of Encouragement.

Jan challenges her readers to get their own Ebenezers. She suggests we each find a rock and put it in a place where we’ll run across it occasionally to remind us that God is our help. I might do that, but I already have an Ebenezer. Mine’s not a physical stone; it’s an emotional one.

When I go through trials, I feel like I’m swimming in rough waters. I can swim, but fighting the storm wears me out. I get tired and need help to keep from sinking. That’s when I put my feet down and feel the Rock beneath me. When I stand on the Rock, the waters don’t necessarily calm down, but I’m on a solid surface that keeps me from being swept away.

I first pictured this Rock under my feet when Neal was diagnosed with leukemia and the doctors offered no hope. Through the days of waiting in the hospital while he was in a coma, I was overwhelmed, but I frequently put my feet down to stand on the Rock. Afterward, some people told me I was so strong because I survived the trial with my faith intact. 

I wasn’t strong, the Rock was.

I thank God that I haven’t experienced any more trials that overwhelming. But there have still been many times when I’ve needed to put my feet down and stand on the Rock.

It’s always there.

He’s always there.

Jesus is always there.

Like Jan, I love a hymn that reminds me of this precious truth.

The Solid Rock (by Edward Mote)

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus’ name. 

Refrain:
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand,
All other ground is sinking sand.

When darkness veils His lovely face,
I rest on His unchanging grace;
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil. 

His oath, His covenant, His blood
Support me in the whelming flood;
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my hope and stay.

My Ebenezer is named Jesus and He is indeed my help.

Praying the Scripture

My mother taught me to say my prayers when I was just old enough to talk. I learned to say:

Now I lay me down to sleep

I pray Thee Lord my soul to keep

If I should die before I wake

I pray Thee Lord my soul to take.

When I was a little older the big kids taught me this one (which we never used in the presence of adults):

Good food, good meat, good God, let’s eat.

I also learned to pray by repeating the words my mother said at bedtime, words which were usually the same basic, “Thank you for the day and for my blessings” prayers. And of course I learned the Lord’s Prayer. So my early prayers were repetitions of other people's words. As I grew older, learning to “make up” prayers using my own words was a challenge, but by the time I was a teenager, I was having long conversations with God. I used to go for walks and tell Him all about my life – out loud.

Now, in some ways, I've returned to repeating other's prayers. As I read the prayers that people in the scriptures prayed, I wonder why I bother using my own words. They say it so much better.

Miriam’s song of deliverance: Exodus 15:1-18

     The Lord is my strength and my song;
         he has given me victory.

David’s prayer of confession: Psalm 51

      Against you, and you alone, have I sinned;
         I have done what is evil in your sight.

 David’s prayer of praise: I Chronicles 29:10-13

     Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty.

Of course there are so many more. I could spend days praying the Psalms. And what about the non-stop praises in Revelation? But I am particularly drawn to prayers for others. When God puts people on my heart, I am finding that He also leads me to the right prayer for them. I can and do ask God to bless, comfort and heal, and to give them peace and patience, as needed. But the scripture is so much deeper.

We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. Colossians 1:9-14

I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return. May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ—for this will bring much glory and praise to God. Philippians 1:9-11

Now, when I run across a prayer in the scripture, I stop and pray it. It’s such a blessing to be given the words by the Author and Recipient of my prayers.

**All the scriptures are from the NLT.