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Year 21 of making
homemade Christmas
cards.  If you have not
received our cards
before, we invite you to
visit past cards via the
"Baker Family Christmas
Card" link to the left.  

This year's card has a
tree theme.  As the tree
"grows" the poem
unfolds.
"Joseph heard the
angel's voice
and paused to
contemplate his choice.
One not of his own flesh
and blood
Could he accept now as
his son?
Who would dare believe
his claim
Or give occasion to
explain?
In the streets they'd
whisper lies;
Loved ones shake their
heads and sigh."
"'Man of sorrows,' 'Son of God'
Resigning all to walk this sod.
Gentle, humble, kind and good,
Rejected, scorned, misunderstood.
For fatherless and lost we roamed;
He came that we might have a home,
And spilt the life from His own veins
In order to give us His name."
"While angels sang and shepherds
smiled
Joseph did adopt a Child
That whosoever will might come
And be adopted by the Son
Who beckons near and far until
Each seat at the table's filled.
For Christ revealed that 'Family' is....
"Not made by our own blood,
But His...."

"God decided in advance to adopt us
into his own family by bringing us to
Himself in Christ Jesus."  
Ephesians 1:5 NLT

Hannah came up with the telescoping
design for this card a few years ago,
but each year we settled on a
different design and held this idea to
the side to use "next year".  Well,
finally it seemed exactly right, as each
page "grows" the Family Tree.   After
all the work that went into last year's
card, I was horrified to discover that
many of the cards arrived with the
mosaic tiles fallen off.  While the glue
was strong, the final product was a
stiff card that did not hold up well to
the bending of the postal machines.  
It did not take much pressure for the
tiny, carefully places tiles to pop up.  
This is simply one of the
considerations in every card.  So,
with this year's card, one of the
considerations was that the panels
slide out in the correct order.  This
sounds simple, but is not quite so.  If
the top panel pulled out before the
second page, the card would not
make sense, and the whole effect
would be confusing.  So we had to
work on making the top panel fit
snugly, while the second panel would
be loose so that a simple tug of the
ribbon on top would reveal the
second page, and establish the
order.  Hopefully, this is what
happened for you and your card.  


This year's card obviously has an
adoption theme, which is near and
dear to our heart.  It is interesting to
think that even Jesus was technically
adopted by Joseph.  God used
adoption to bring His own Son into
the world, just as He adopts us into
His own family.  Adoption was God's
idea!  I love the many parallels that
you can draw from the adoption of
children, to our adoption into God's
family.  "Joint heirs with Christ"
(Romans 8:17)  It's an amazing
thought to think about.

But the card is about more than just
adoption.  It is about family.  When
you start to research and study the
word "family" it is interesting what
you find.  Just what is "family"?  Some
feel that it is primarily about a blood
relationship.  But if you think about it,
who is the one person in your life
whom you have the closest
relationship with?  In most cases,
wouldn't we say our spouse?  And
hopefully our spouse is not blood
related.  In our family, some of us are
blood related and some of us are not,
but we make no distinction, in fact,
we often forget which is which!  

We choose if we want to be part of
God's family, and we choose to
remain a part of our earthly families
as well.  It is an honor and a privilege
to parent and nurture each child in
our family.  

In writing the poem I also thought
about Joseph, and how he made a
decision to do something that many
would not understand.  Even those
he was closest to and loved most,
probably did not understand or
support his choices.  But he had to
do what he thought God had asked
him to do, even if it meant that
rumors were spread, or that respect
for him was lost.  His reputation was
at stake.  And back then, just as
today, people are much more eager
to believe lies about people than to
believe the truth.  Sadly, likely many
did not even ask him his side of the
story, but just drew their own
conclusions and ostracized him
accordingly.  

And if Joseph was misunderstood
and wrongly accused and rejected,
how much more so was Jesus?  
Jesus was the perfect man, yet there
were those who still rejected Him and
wanted no part of being in His family.  
Why should we be surprised, then,
when we are rejected or
misunderstood or wrongly accused?  

Then I thought about the passage in
the Luke 14, the Parable of the Great
Banquet:

“A certain man was preparing a great
banquet and invited many guests.  At
the time of the banquet he sent his
servant to tell those who had been
invited, ‘Come, for everything is now
ready.’  

But they all alike began to make
excuses. The first said, ‘I have just
bought a field, and I must go and see
it. Please excuse me.’   Another said,
‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen,
and I’m on my way to try them out.
Please excuse me.’  Still another said,
‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’

The servant came back and reported
this to his master. Then the owner of
the house became angry and ordered
his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the
streets and alleys of the town and
bring in the poor, the crippled, the
blind and the lame.’

‘Sir,’ the servant said, ‘what you
ordered has been done, but there is
still room.’

Then the master told his servant, ‘Go
out to the roads and country lanes
and compel them to come in, so that
my house will be full."

An interesting passage to muse
over.  And so, we open our home, our
lives, our love.  And our house will be
full, one way or another.  For this is
what He has called us all to do.  To
keep offering, asking, giving, and
when one does not accept what we
offer, we are to move on and keep
offering to the next and the next.  For
God's table is a "big, big house, with
lots and lots of room, with a big, big
table, with lots and lots of food..."


The final page in the card shows the
top of the tree, filled with the "fruit"
of all "nations, tribes and tongues."  
All various faces, ages, colors, all part
of the same tree.  I think it is a joyful
picture of what Family is.  While there
are those in the world who wish they
had been born into a different family,
or wish that they had a family at all, it
is a joyful thing to think that we all
have equal access to being a part of
God's family.  We ALL have this
opportunity, and it is simply up to us
to accept it, and live in the love and
protection of His family, or to turn and
walk away.    

For some reason I have very few
pictures of the card being put
together this year.  But rest assured,
all hands participated!   
The envelope.
Cards stacked up and ready to mail.
***