Advent Day 10, 11, 12 & 13: It's In Everyone of Us...

Growing up (and still to this day) my absolute FAVORITE Christmas album of all times was (and is) John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together. I usually couldn't wait until I could put it on the record play - yes, I said record player...I have PLENTY of memories of record players. (Do any of you remember those books that would be read to you from a record, you turned the page at the chimes? Yeah, I had tons of those!) Well, anyways...I loved the love and peace and happiness and crazy silliness of John Denver's musings and Jim Henson's writings. Both these men were very focused on trusting in your fellow person and believing in the true goodness of humanity. I absolutely loved every minute of the Muppet Show and love much of John Denver's music. 

So, the true enjoyment of this "celebrated" album not only made me laugh but it celebrated something I came to know and value dearly still today as a follower of Christ - trust in humanity's GOODNESS, or its true potential towards such, and you will see that we will rise to that goodness and capability. Think about that for a second...

Do you agree? How do you feel about this statement? Does this thought cause you to consider changing your perspective and reaction towards people? 

I feel this value of people is a holistically Biblical view and here is why: Christ shared life, true life and was able to show us the way to be and live as the Father's Holy Creation. Think about that for a second... God believed in the complete GOODNESS of humanity (He has called us this you know, Gen. 1 and 2) and our potential capability of achieving such goodness again so much so that He should trust His own Self, His Son to become human. Just look at how Christ treated humanity, He believed in the potential, the best SELF. And when people surrounding Him came to realize this about Him they rose to the occasion through His Spiritual guidance. 

What a glorious thing and how clearly, to me, the message of Christmas!! We are worth believing in! We are worth the King, the Creator coming to trust Himself as a Baby, a Child to us so He can help us, enable us to be the whole, best SELF we were created to be. Just look at His birth, lowly, poor, to an nondescript family - there was no reason to capitalize on these people other than their humble, potential hearts. He knew it was within them to rise to the goodness God created them for, so He came through them. Through the power of the Holy Spirit God enabled them to be the people He created them to be. 

Feel this whole thought for a moment. We are capable of good, of being more than we are, of being the health and light for the world. Our world lives within darkness, complete and total darkness, how cool would it be to shine a light complete and contagous to all people through our realizing and living out the theological thought that all people are potentially good and through the Holy Spirit we are able to realize this. 

Just think about this for a little bit. And as a helper I have attached a link to a few songs from the Muppets and John Denver's 1979 Christmas Special where they talk about this. Watch them, they will help you think about it. 

It's in Everyone of Us - John Denver and the Muppets

The Peace Carol - John Denver and the Muppets 

Also, read John 1, how does this world long for light? How does this world struggle with darkness? Meditate on light and darkness - challenge your worldview through the Biblical lenses described here in light and darkness. 

Church Sunday Night

Looking for a place to explore your spiritual questions and connect with others on the journey. Come join us for our congergational gathering every Sunday night at 6 PM.

This week: 

Becky's House

2024 W. 35th Ave.

Denver, CO  80211

6 PM - Gathering for Dinner

7 PM - Start worship, discussion and prayer time. 

See you then...

NEW COMPUTER!

I have converted! I am now a loving iMac user! I have just purchased my first iMac and if statistics prove me well I will not have to buy a new one for 5-10 years! Wahoo! This thing is soooooooooooo cool! The hard drive on my old computer completely crashed so I have been unable to post in a while. I will continue my advent blog soon. However, today I must go clean my house for my party tomorrow night. After this I will blog if i have the time before i go to work. Pray for passable roads tonight so people come out to eat at the 'deaux! 

Advent Day 9: O, Come, O, Come Emmanuel...

O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.
Refrain:
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come to thee, O Israel.

Emmanuel means God with us. God is the "with us" God. No other God through out time has been willing to be "with us," not just for us or within us, but with us as a friend or mentor is with us. God is the with us God who comes to rescue His ransomed children from an exiled existence of being without Him. (Matt. 1:23, Isa. 7:14)

Think of our world, think of your personal world, how are you/we held captive? How are we "bound in chains" within our worlds today? What do you think exile feels like? What does this longing for wholeness and healthy healing through the "with us" God feel like? Look like? Tasted like?

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan's tyranny;
From depths of hell Thy people save,
And give them victory over the grave. (Refrain)

O come, Thou Day-spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here;
And drive away the shades of night
And pierce the clouds and bring us light! (Refrain)

"And drive away the shades of night...pierce the clouds...bring us light!" Meditate on these words. How do they resonate to you? How do they speak to you? Are you found within these lines? Shall the Lord clear away your clouds? What does this look like to have light within you? Are you in darkness? Meditate on the clear call of the "with us" God to clear away darkness and bring light. What does this mean to you?

Read the story of Christ's birth in Matt. 1 and 2. How does the story speak to you? Who do you identify with? How come? How have you felt like someone within the story? What does it mean to you to hear or tell the story today?
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Each year a song captures my heart within the Christmas season. Usually its a completely different one each year. This is an element of the song that has captured me this year. Look for more on it later.

Advent Day 6,7 and 8: Coming to Understand the Reality of December...

OK, so I am struggling with getting things written on timely matter, perhaps I should never become a reporter. However, there are some good reasons this weekend, basically- I have a lot to think about. It's a difficult and emotional but mostly reflective weekend for me. Actually it's more centered on this particular date- Dec. 9th - than anything else. You see three years ago today I lost one of the best, nay greatest persons in my life - my grandfather. It has been some of the most difficult, challenging and yet also very beautiful couple of years journeying through the emotions and the deep grief created by this loss.

All that a child wants, needs, even deserves in a grandfather God gave me in my Boom-Boom (my name for my grandfather). I never doubted his belief in me and knew because of his help to build me into the woman I am today I could be or do anything possible. He loved me without reason and would constantly be my supporter and cheering section. He was a perfect reflection of the "Greatest Generation" and to me all that can be good within humanity.

He taught me love of people, love of music, love of opportunity and the willingness to make and create them. I learned to expect the best from people, to respect others and to honor my elders for within their lives lies the wisdom of the ages. He gave me so much and all I hope to do is give back to the world what he gave me.

This is who he was, this is who he is within me and this is a part of my reality of December, realizing he had gone home with his Father God and a big part of my heart went with him. But a big part of him has stayed here within my heart. I have come to learn that what has replaced this place of emptiness was something greater than I could have ever imagined. What replaced the place of emptiness was a Presence, His Presence. Perhaps the better word is not replaced but engulfed the hole, it wasn't that the hole was gone but rather that the Lord was present within the middle of it. He was there and still is there.

My Holy Father has helped me understand how He has not promised to prevent me from ever experiencing pain or heartache but rather how He is right in the middle of it all replacing my loneliness with His Presence, His love, with Him. You see that's what God promises us that within the brokenness and sometimes ugliness of humanity He is there with His goodness and wholeness. He never promises evil will go away but rather that we will be able to defeat it with Him.

In Leviticus 26:9-13 God promises us that He will be with us and among us. Read these words:

"I will put my dwelling place among you, and I will not abhor you. I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people." (Lev. 26:11,12)

He tells Moses when they are discussing his fear of taking the Israelites into the promise land:

"The LORD replied, "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest." (Exodus 33:14)

God promises to be with us, WITH US, always. Loving us, working with us and walking with us through the struggles and joys and journeys of our lives. He is with us through our griefs, sorrows and celebrations.

My reality of December has been to realize that this world is not always fair, that pain happens and struggles occur but through them all, in the midst of all we are living within LOVE AND GOODNESS can be there. Within the black coldness of the world came a Child to be God with us. We have the hope now to experience the reality of Christmas.

Advent Day 4 and 5: Expectations...

Sorry all, I had a very long day yesterday and was completely zonked last night. I was unable to create a reflective thought whatsoever. So, we will combine days.

Advent is meant to be a time of preparation and expectancy. It's a time of looking forward to the birth of the King and the coming of the Almighty as the Christ bringing us hope for a second birth. It's a time of looking forward to what could be, should be and, because of the Child, will be.

But as we have developed this Christmas season it has also become a time of expectations. We place expectations on ourselves (get that gift, pay that bill, write that card, cook that dinner) and on others (kids will be good, friends will attend our party, everyone will get along). And of course, stores and the media caters to these expectations (we will be open at 6 AM so you can get your shopping done). I can't tell you how many times I have watched my mother kill herself over making sure cookies were baked, decorations were up, concerts were attended, dinners were made and church obligations were met (now we are the pastor's family so those obligations were a bit different for us). It was so often a race to finish the Christmas preps resulting in the Christmas crash the week after.

But what of this has to do with expectancy? A good friend of mine, Ryan Taylor - leader with Adullam Community, has a fantastic post on his blog about this very questions - the difference between expectancy and expectation. I really advise everyone follow the link and connect with what he says.

Ryan talks about how expectancy, like expectant parents, "carries with it a wide-eyed unassuming sense of hope. With expectancy, you put your agenda aside and you pray against faulty presumptions that will taint your experience of reality." What hope we have for that child, what dreams we have of what could come, we just hope, hope for the best and love what will come. But then what is expectation? As Ryan says, "Expectation is a pungent belief that something will occur in a specific way. Expectation is the seemingly unstoppable undertow of a culture consumed by its ideas of consumerism and coming out on top. Expectation occurs when I compare my unique story with that of someone else."

How obviously different these almost identical words can be? If you look at the world with expectant eyes could this mean that we look at the world with hope. Listen to the words of Isaiah later quoted by John the Baptist (Christ's cousin you know):

"Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him."
(Matt. 3:3, read the rest in Matt. 3:1-17)

What was John hoping for? What was he asking us to prepare for? Some great King who would defeat the Romans in a military conquest, like the religious leaders hoped for? Or was it something more of a preparing the hearts of all who seek Him for whatever He has to bring to us with His coming? I think like John was asking us to have an unadulterated hope and trust in the Holy One and the One He was sending without having our expectations of Him clouding the way. I think the preparing that John and Isaiah are speaking of is a calling to prepare our hearts to receive and be transformed by whatever gift of grace the Child was bringing. Restoration? Renewal? Reconciliation? Hope...

Consider Mary, the expectant Mother. She was completely and totally without expectations. In fact all she had planned and expected for her life was thrashed to bits when the Angel of the Lord appeared to her and called her into this expectant role. Emotionally, spiritually, mentally, physically, how could she truly prepare and know what to expect of this Child she was carrying? All she and Joseph could do was allow the Holy to hold them together and hope, hope for the best and hope for all that this Child's unexpected coming could bring.

If you think about it, it was the failure to meet expectations (put out by religious leaders then and even us today) and a lack of willing heartfelt, spiritual preparation that sent Christ to the Cross. It was a perceived inability to meet the expectations of a great military King, powerful enough to conquer all perceived enemies that made Jesus the Christ a failure in the eyes of the religious leaders. How powerful a thought to think of this small difference?

So, who are you? Are you the expectant or the expectation holding? How are we looking at this Holy holiday? Are we allowing the Lord to prepare our hearts for His holistic coming like He desires or are we hoping things will work out exactly like we planned? Are we even allowing our spiritual life to be driven by our expectations (I will read my Bible everyday and if not I will not have a good relationship with God)?

How is the Holy meeting you in your soul? He loves you, let Him.

Advent Day 3: Life is Messy...

I got an e-mail tonight from a friend who experienced something drastically tragic today. She was at home with her toddler when her female neighbor knocked on the door and was standing there dripping with blood and a broken noise. She had been beaten by her drunk husband and adult son. Immediately my friend was torn out of her comfortable, Christmas preparing world and thrust fully into the holistically painful world of another, another who she had grown to care about. Suddenly my friend was no longer safe in her comfortable little world and taken to a place of fear and struggle. As she put it....

"I have never been in a position of fear like this but also dealing with the sadness and anger that comes from being involved in someone else's tragedy is a lot to bear..esp. when it comes into my safe space, my home and erupts into my safe little world. We've tried to be Jesus to this family since we moved here last year and I'm finding the "messiness" of missional life to be a real bitch right at this moment."

She continues to say...

"...it's one thing to hug on the homeless and talk with teen runaways when we choose to put ourselves in that situation. It's very different to have the (literally) [the] broken knock on my door when I'm home alone with my toddler..."

She is right, so very right. Missional living - living so as to reflect Christ in your life style (I grew up calling this the Christyle) - is completely and totally messy. There is no other way to experience it or explain it. And it is sooo difficult sometimes. But also, when we truly are seeking to follow Christ wholly, something that comes naturally.

A few months ago I was sitting in an ER with a friend overnight while she was trying to figure out why she was having severe stomach pains. While sitting in the uncomfortable hospital chair I came to realize that this is what a real hospital call was like for me if I was looking to live missionally. It wasn't coming in a for a few minutes and praying with the patient or family but rather holding someone's hand while they whence in pain in the hospital room. It's sleeping on the floor in the room while you wait for the test results. It's getting involved in the messiness of another's life. Life is messy...missional living = messiness.

This first week's advent readings from the lectionary focus on the first and second chapters of Isaiah. In this passage God is setting up a case against the Israelites to set them up for understanding why they need a Messiah, someone who will save them and lead them to be who we are meant to be. The Father says that they claim to be righteous but they are nothing more than sinful people unwilling to do the work of the Kingdom to fight for the fatherless and the oppressed. God is angry because they will not get messy. Listen to His words:

"Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me." Isa. 1:13a
"Take your evil deeds out of my sight!
Stop doing wrong, learn to do right!
Seek justice, encourage the oppressed.
Defend the cause of the fatherless,
plead the case of the widow."
Isa. 1:16b-17

Seeking justice and caring for the oppressed is difficult and messy. It causes us to get out of our comfort zones and challenges us to transform more into His likeness daily. God longs for us to realize that His glory and love goes well beyond any ritual or worship service and to prove it He provided His Son to develop relationships with the our messiness and live in that reality. Life is full of complications and fearful situations but that is right where Christ is willing to live and hold us and meet with us - in the midst of our messiness.

For me that's part of what the coming of the Christ child means. I mean just look at how He arrived - in a dirty, ugly, messy stinky stable where few would be willing to stay. He came to a man and woman planning on getting married but weren't yet and so this pregnancy was something extremely ugly and messy for their lives. An out of wedlock pregnancy at the time was the among most deplorable form of disgrace a family could receive. It would be like having an affair and getting pregnant because of the affair today. What an ugly messy place to be - and Christ came right into the middle of it all.

Today my friend was willing to get messy. Because she longs to follow Christ and become more transformed to His likeness she was willing (perhaps without realizing it) to get messy. She is struggling now because she dealt with something horrible, that is part of getting messy. But she is not alone, she is held together by her family, her friends, and her God. Christ comes to live among the messiness of our lives, to hold us while we are there and to help heal us along the way. Following Christ isn't easy, it can be dangerous and difficult but the greatest things we will ever do.

Advent Day 2: Honesty

In my journals and journey today I came to a place of honesty with myself. I realized that if I honestly longed for something to happen within this Advent blog I couldn't force it. I couldn't force something through the Lectionary or through music or something like that. But rather I would have to honestly look at my heart and soul through this preparation for the coming of the Christ Child and pray through things with the Holy Spirit as He cleans and prepares my soul for the depth of His coming.

For years I gotten ready for the Holiday by celebrating the people of the story of Christ's life and birth. I have allowed myself to consider and maybe even feel the feelings of the main, and even minor, characters of the Christmas story. I have also allowed the objects of the story (i.e. - the manger, the star, the gifts, etc.) to chase into my heart to share the story. And I am asking us to go these things again to help us truly understand who God is and why this season? We will continue to work through the Lectionary as needed but also trust that there is just as much to experience through honest self reflection and connection to the people of the story.

So, here is my challenge to you...honesty...yes, that's right, honesty. This week take a realistic, honest look at yourself, your own heart and how you are reacting to the Christmas season. Do you like it? Hate it? Feel indifferent towards it? Have mixed emotions about it? and WHY? Ask yourself why you feel this way. Ask God why you feel this way and have a feeling of trust that He will help you understand these things.

Most importantly here, OWN where you feel you are at this holiday season. Own the struggle, the joy, the emotional roller coaster, etc. Own it all and consider allowing the Holy to live and journey with you through your location on this journey. The Holy knows and understands were we all are on this journey through Advent and is willing to meet us where we are at if we will let Him.

AMEN

An Attempt at an Advent Blog/Journal

Two weeks ago, while I was driving across Kansas on my way to Oklahoma for Thanksgiving, I had a thought, or maybe perhaps more like an inspirational encouragement. It was a realization of the power and impact of our global, Internet connected community and a thought on how we could holistically utilize its components to engage in a journey together to deepen and develop our understanding and experience of Christ and this season of preparation for Christmas called Advent.

I was listening to my new favorite Advent CD, Behold the Lamb of God by Andrew Peterson, and was recalling how many people the week before had told me how they hate Christmas and all this hullabaloo people make of it. I began to ask God why, why do so many struggle so greatly with the season and for His help to show me how can I help them experience the coming of Christ as it is intended, without the sales and plastic Christmas ornaments.

I began to realize how so many of us don't realize the depth of the story, let alone the whole story and reality of Christmas. The story of Christ's coming as a child spans across all of time, it is all we are longing for and all we have been. It is all we want and desire and tells of how we are worthy of being restored to all we were created to be. I began to realize how I don't really even know all that the story shares with me. So I decided to take a journey, a journey of preparation, commitment and experience the holisticness of Christ's mass...and I would like to ask you to come along.

I hope to post here each day a journey devotional for us. It will be a journey of preparation for me to come to a place of writing and posting (that's the commitment piece for me). These writings will act as simply a guide, nothing spectacular. I will give you the daily readings from the Lectionary, Year A (I realize the rest of the world is on Year C but I am new at this!) and other thoughts or expereinces within our preperation. I also hope to include music, art, movies and other suggestions to enable and enhance our experience of preperation together.

My first suggestions: get the CD Behold the Lamb by Andrew Peterson (the link is to where to purchase it) and listen to it a few times. It is spiritually, emotionally and mentally powerful!

Today is the first Sunday of Advent, the readings are:

Psalm 146, 147 (Morning) 111, 112, 113 (Evening)

Isaiah 1:1-9

2 Peter 3:1-10

Matthew 25:1-13

I hope you will join me.