So here we are on December 29th and I am wondering...where are all the Christmas songs on the radio? All the cars in the mall parking lot? The poinsettas in the sanctuary? The Christmas cookies? (Ok, they are still there, just getting a little stale) It's as if Christmas has disappeared and all the craziness that was December is now but a quiet echo.
Christmas has a huge build up to it. So huge that the day itself can almost feel like a let-down. After all the presents are opened and dinner is eaten, what's next?
In the relative quietness of these days in between Christmas and New Years, maybe this is the time to reflect. To think about what our year has been like and to look forward to a new year of possibilities. The hype has passed, the songs have been sung. Now it's time to let the quiet wash over us and reflect on all the blessings of the newborn Savior.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Mary's Song
I love this translation of Mary's song, the Magnificat. May we all learn to dance in the mystery of God...
"My soul sings in gratitude.
I'm dancing in the mystery of God.
The Light of the Holy One is within me and I am blessed, so truly blessed.
This goes deeper than human thinking.
I am filled with awe at Love whose only condition is to be received.
The gift is not for the proud, for they have no room for it.
The strong and self-sufficient ones don't have this awareness.
But those who know their emptiness can rejoice in Love's fullness.
It's the Love that we are made for, the reason for our being.
It fills our inmost heart space and brings to birth in us, the Holy One."
by Joy Cowley, Auckland, New Zealand (Translation of Luke 1:46--55)
"My soul sings in gratitude.
I'm dancing in the mystery of God.
The Light of the Holy One is within me and I am blessed, so truly blessed.
This goes deeper than human thinking.
I am filled with awe at Love whose only condition is to be received.
The gift is not for the proud, for they have no room for it.
The strong and self-sufficient ones don't have this awareness.
But those who know their emptiness can rejoice in Love's fullness.
It's the Love that we are made for, the reason for our being.
It fills our inmost heart space and brings to birth in us, the Holy One."
by Joy Cowley, Auckland, New Zealand (Translation of Luke 1:46--55)
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Glimpses of God
In my last post, I talked about seeing glimpses of God this Advent season. I decided to make a list, and I hope you'll join me in adding to the list!
Glimpses of God...
In the generosity of our conregation in sponsoring our youth to purchase gifts for 53 children from Cameron Elementary
In the voices of the children who sang at the Aging with Grace luncheon
In the first snowfall!
In the laughter God blessed us with one day at the office
At the Chris Tomlin Glory in the Highest concert, where I was able to worship him through beautiful Christmas songs
In my porcelain manger scene
In the ringing of the bells and the sound of voices during our church Christmas concert
In our study of Beth Moore's Esther series on Wednesday mornings
In the support of our congregation during James' training academy
In the generosity of our church members--when they hear of someone who needs a coat, they go out and buy one!
In the presents for needy children stacking up in the office
The blessing (or curse!) of Christmas cookies!
In James helping me get the printer working again for the last of my Christmas letters from miles away
In the youth, who crack me up sometimes!
In the "I miss you's from friends"
In the Christmas photos
In the beautiful poinsettas that decorate our church
Oh come, oh come Immanuel...
Glimpses of God...
In the generosity of our conregation in sponsoring our youth to purchase gifts for 53 children from Cameron Elementary
In the voices of the children who sang at the Aging with Grace luncheon
In the first snowfall!
In the laughter God blessed us with one day at the office
At the Chris Tomlin Glory in the Highest concert, where I was able to worship him through beautiful Christmas songs
In my porcelain manger scene
In the ringing of the bells and the sound of voices during our church Christmas concert
In our study of Beth Moore's Esther series on Wednesday mornings
In the support of our congregation during James' training academy
In the generosity of our church members--when they hear of someone who needs a coat, they go out and buy one!
In the presents for needy children stacking up in the office
The blessing (or curse!) of Christmas cookies!
In James helping me get the printer working again for the last of my Christmas letters from miles away
In the youth, who crack me up sometimes!
In the "I miss you's from friends"
In the Christmas photos
In the beautiful poinsettas that decorate our church
Oh come, oh come Immanuel...
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Little Yellow Notebook
December...whew! The Advent of our King and yet the craziest time of year. These days I have taken to carrying around a little yellow notebook everywhere I go. You see, I have the worst short-term memory. I need to write everything down in order to remember it. These last few weeks, I've had more and more things to remember. Call the 456ers about the Christmas Pageant, get snacks for the meeting, print the pictures for our Christmas cards, get milk, order tickets...and on and on. For most people these days, this list would be kept technologically but for some reason I insist on going Old School with my to-do list.
Sadly our to-do-lists seem to get longer and longer as the holidays approach. We try to do so much to commemorate the day that we forget about Jesus himself.
And I just realized that I am writing what I hate to hear every year. The tired line of "We are too busy at Christmas," "We should focus more on the real meaning of the Season." We hear this over and over again, and I write about it or talk about it in some form each December, but I'm wondering when we will really get it. What will it take for us to really let this truth sink in.
What I thought about the other day was that maybe it's not some large-scale thing but just the moments where we catch a glimpse of God. I had one last week as I was decorating my house for Christmas. I was listening to some Christmas music and just as I was putting the finishing touches on my manger scene, the words "Christ the Savior is born" filled the air. Beautiful. I also watched our youth and Club 456ers buying gifts for fifty-three under-privileged children and I thought it again. Beautiful.
Maybe thinking of Christmas differently isn't really some large-scale change. I don't think we'll ever get away from all the Christmas parties, gift exchanges, Christmas cards and cookies. I'll still be carrying around a version of my little yellow notebook until I'm 70. But I think the key is just to look for the beautiful moments where Jesus breaks through. Moments such as falling snow or a glance at a manger scene or the wiggly Christmas Eve pageant. Let's look for glimpses of God this Advent season.
Where have you seen Him?
Sadly our to-do-lists seem to get longer and longer as the holidays approach. We try to do so much to commemorate the day that we forget about Jesus himself.
And I just realized that I am writing what I hate to hear every year. The tired line of "We are too busy at Christmas," "We should focus more on the real meaning of the Season." We hear this over and over again, and I write about it or talk about it in some form each December, but I'm wondering when we will really get it. What will it take for us to really let this truth sink in.
What I thought about the other day was that maybe it's not some large-scale thing but just the moments where we catch a glimpse of God. I had one last week as I was decorating my house for Christmas. I was listening to some Christmas music and just as I was putting the finishing touches on my manger scene, the words "Christ the Savior is born" filled the air. Beautiful. I also watched our youth and Club 456ers buying gifts for fifty-three under-privileged children and I thought it again. Beautiful.
Maybe thinking of Christmas differently isn't really some large-scale change. I don't think we'll ever get away from all the Christmas parties, gift exchanges, Christmas cards and cookies. I'll still be carrying around a version of my little yellow notebook until I'm 70. But I think the key is just to look for the beautiful moments where Jesus breaks through. Moments such as falling snow or a glance at a manger scene or the wiggly Christmas Eve pageant. Let's look for glimpses of God this Advent season.
Where have you seen Him?
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Techno Fast
I don't know about you, but I was really convicted during Pastor Shannon's sermon this week about idols. When she took out that laptop and placed it on the communion table and when she held out her I-Phone, I knew I was in trouble!
Technology. No one really thinks of it as an idol, but when we spend so much time with it, it can take over our lives. Let's ask ourselves the question, "Do I spend more time on Facebook than I do with Jesus?" or "Do I spend more time emailing or texting than I spend reading the Word of God?" Sadly I am convicted by these questions even as I write them.
We might spend a short "quiet time" with God in the morning, but we are online for most of the day. We might say some random prayers throughout the week, but we can't live without our cell phones.
Maybe we can't live without prayer...
Facebook can connect us with others and give us a window into other's lives, but it can also isolate us from the world. It can keep us from going out and actually hanging out with people. It can keep us from calling our friends, because we already know what they are up to.
I don't think the correct response is simply to shut down our Facebook accounts, but to take a look at our use of technology. We need to make sure that we are in control of our lives and that technology is not controlling us. I just read a fascinating book on this subject called "Flickering Pixels," by Shane Hipps. I would highly recommend it for an in-depth look at how technology affects us and our faith.
As Pastor Shannon was talking on Sunday, I thought about how I sometimes try to go without email and often shut off my cell phone on the weekends, trying desperately to rest and withdraw from a demanding world. This is hard to do. Sometimes I don't get emails in time or I miss important phone calls. But I am even more convicted now to do a complete "Techno Fast" on Fridays. Being a person who works on Sundays, Fridays are my Sabbath day. I am convicted to work hard to shut off the technology on Fridays and spend the day in rest and fun activities. I don't want to be tied down to my technologies, but simply to let them be an extension of my personality.
Maybe we can all try out this concept of a "techno fast," even for an hour or so a day. Let's see what happens in those moments of quiet...
Technology. No one really thinks of it as an idol, but when we spend so much time with it, it can take over our lives. Let's ask ourselves the question, "Do I spend more time on Facebook than I do with Jesus?" or "Do I spend more time emailing or texting than I spend reading the Word of God?" Sadly I am convicted by these questions even as I write them.
We might spend a short "quiet time" with God in the morning, but we are online for most of the day. We might say some random prayers throughout the week, but we can't live without our cell phones.
Maybe we can't live without prayer...
Facebook can connect us with others and give us a window into other's lives, but it can also isolate us from the world. It can keep us from going out and actually hanging out with people. It can keep us from calling our friends, because we already know what they are up to.
I don't think the correct response is simply to shut down our Facebook accounts, but to take a look at our use of technology. We need to make sure that we are in control of our lives and that technology is not controlling us. I just read a fascinating book on this subject called "Flickering Pixels," by Shane Hipps. I would highly recommend it for an in-depth look at how technology affects us and our faith.
As Pastor Shannon was talking on Sunday, I thought about how I sometimes try to go without email and often shut off my cell phone on the weekends, trying desperately to rest and withdraw from a demanding world. This is hard to do. Sometimes I don't get emails in time or I miss important phone calls. But I am even more convicted now to do a complete "Techno Fast" on Fridays. Being a person who works on Sundays, Fridays are my Sabbath day. I am convicted to work hard to shut off the technology on Fridays and spend the day in rest and fun activities. I don't want to be tied down to my technologies, but simply to let them be an extension of my personality.
Maybe we can all try out this concept of a "techno fast," even for an hour or so a day. Let's see what happens in those moments of quiet...
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Life
I heard a song recently and I love this quote from it:
"I love this crazy, tragic, sometimes almost magic, awful beautiful life."
Isn't that so true? Life can be crazy! So crazy, running here and there. Life can be tragic. Oh so tragic. And there are times when we see the sun setting from the airplane window or a hill full of Autumn trees and we can't help but think that there's a little bit of "magic" to this life. It's awful at times, it's beautiful at times. Life.
I love the "Life is Good" shirts because I am generally a glass-half-full kind of girl. But sometimes to say that "life is good" doesn't really cut it. Sometimes life is hard. Sometimes you don't even want to get out of bed in the morning. But other times it is amazing and you can't wait to see what's next.
I'd say Christ experience each of these things in his life as well--the craziness of his disciples, the tragedy of his death, the magic of his miracles, the awfulness of sin and the beauty of his creation.
Even though life's not perfect, there's so much to love about it.
"I love this crazy, tragic, sometimes almost magic, awful beautiful life."
Isn't that so true? Life can be crazy! So crazy, running here and there. Life can be tragic. Oh so tragic. And there are times when we see the sun setting from the airplane window or a hill full of Autumn trees and we can't help but think that there's a little bit of "magic" to this life. It's awful at times, it's beautiful at times. Life.
I love the "Life is Good" shirts because I am generally a glass-half-full kind of girl. But sometimes to say that "life is good" doesn't really cut it. Sometimes life is hard. Sometimes you don't even want to get out of bed in the morning. But other times it is amazing and you can't wait to see what's next.
I'd say Christ experience each of these things in his life as well--the craziness of his disciples, the tragedy of his death, the magic of his miracles, the awfulness of sin and the beauty of his creation.
Even though life's not perfect, there's so much to love about it.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Adventures in Public Transportation
I just returned from a trip to Los Angeles for the National Youth Workers' Convention. Through a series of events, I ended up going by myself. This didn't bother me too much, because I am always up for an adventure. I went hoping to learn more about youth ministry and maybe catch a glimpse of a movie star. :) On my second day there, I spontaneously decided to go on a tour of the Warner Brothers Studio. I called for a ticket and then realized I had only a short time to get there. I called the Metro and tried to figure out the route. I ran to the station and hopped on the train, hoping I caught the right one. I got off in Hollywood, which was a maze of tourists, and Hollywood stars (ok, only on the ground, but hey, a girl can dream). I searched in vain for the bus stop, asked three people where it was, and finally called Metro. Finally I found the stop and waited. And waited. After about 10 minutes of the bus being late I started to get worried. I had about 20 minutes to get to the studio before the tour. Out of nowhere, a cabbie pulled up and said he would give me half off and get me there on time! Nice. So I jump in and we are off on a wild ride to the movie studio. I knew God had provided this "taxi angel" at just the right moment. The tour was amazing and I had a great time! Afterwards I had more taxi issues and almost got stranded in Burbank, only to be rescued again.
I was thinking about the fact that sometimes when we are alone and it seems like no one is there to protect and take care of us, we have the assurance that God is there. Even in a strange city, God will send his "angels" to watch over us at just the right time. Maybe that is why it is called Los Angeles...
I was thinking about the fact that sometimes when we are alone and it seems like no one is there to protect and take care of us, we have the assurance that God is there. Even in a strange city, God will send his "angels" to watch over us at just the right time. Maybe that is why it is called Los Angeles...
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Jesus at the Airport
So yesterday I was at the airport in St. Louis, getting on the plane, when I spotted Jesus. Ok, well not Jesus in human form, but his name. I looked inside one of those rectangular trucks that carry luggage back and forth to the planes and someone had spray painted the word "Jesus" in black paint inside one of the trucks. I always like to have "Jesus sightings," but this one was particularly thought-provoking. I thought about the fact that Jesus really does carry our baggage for us, just as this truck was doing. And thankfully, one day we'll get off the "plane" and we won't need to go to baggage claim...
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Character
Last night I was watching the final episode of one of my favorite TV shows. It has been on for the past six years and I have grown to know and love the characters. I have seen them grow and change and become great people as they have completed high school and grown into adulthood. I have been amazed how much I have gotten into this show and loved everything about it from the music to the storylines to the small town they live in. But what I think we all connect to most is character and relationships. I love watching the characters because as I see them make mistakes and learn from them I feel like I am sharing in their joys and sorrows. I also watch it to "get away from life" and be in this whole other world created by the TV show. I'm not a person who watches a lot of television, but over the years there have been a couple of shows that have struck me as having a quality message and great characters. I think this all stems back to our need for belonging, friendships, relationships and people to care about. We watch characters on TV in order to learn from them and to see how they interact with other people. We root them on to victory and want the best for them, which I think is something deeply rooted in our human nature.
Monday, May 11, 2009
My first blog
I don't know if writing your first blog is something like taking your first steps or learning to ride a bike for the first time, but it seems somehow monumental. I am hoping to use this blog to share my thoughts on life, as one beloved of God. I pray that my words would be used by Him and that He would be glorified through them.
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