Prayer

Being church is messy most of the time....if you don't think so, try really being the part of the body you're supposed to be and functioning next to other parts...takes practice and lots of growing pains.

Below is a prayer I wrote for our church's offertory prayer...

God woke me up with it in the middle of the night again...don't know why God seems to send me these things at the strangest hours, but I'll take them.  :)

God,

We come now to a time of offering, a time of giving.
In this time, take us beyond these offering plates that we pass to a place of honest reflection.
We know that it is in giving
That we receive.

God, I confess today
That sometimes I enter these doors
with a hardened heart;
I confess that when I exit these doors,
Somtimes I gift the world with hatred, with judgement,
with my own selfishness.

God, I am guilty of trying to love you
Without loving my brothers and sisters.
You tell us in your Word
That that kind of love is impossible.
That if we truly love you, we will love others.

We are a body of believers walking around on crutches
Because we have been wrestling with you
Over your dreams for us.

God, show us how to offer ourselves today
To be the people you would have us be.
Show us what we hold in our hearts and hands
That can either be detrmental or beneficial
To those outside these doors.
 
You have given so freely to us.
Help us to gift the world
With you in us.
That every valley of a situation will be lifted.
That every selfish thought of pride be made low.
That the rough plans we have made be made straight.
And that hte glory of the Lord, your glory, shall be revealed
That we all may see it together.
Amen.

How Did We Get Here?!

Every Christmas, I ask myself the same question..."How did we get here again?"  It seems like time passes so quickly.  And now I am 30!  Seriously?  I just can't believe it some days.  Other days, like last week, I ran outside for two days straight and thought I would need a cane the next day for how bad my joints hurt...concrete is not my friend these days.  Anyway, I sit around every Christmas and listen to my Grandma reminisce about those "old" days...the Christmas I was born, how tiny I was, the crazy things I did and said as a little bit...and I can't imagine how all these years have passed.  I look at my mom and dad's eyes and see  wonder reflected as they watch my siblings and I interact as adults.  I know they must be thinking about how fast time has passed...and yet, so much has happened.  

I was thinking about this past year and all that has happened...

I started my fourth year of teaching...yep that's right...thank you TN for counting those 2 years in GA!

I loved on some kids (at school, at church, in homes)

I taught some little kids some great theology...Jesus is weird but cool.

My friends had little gifts of children

Everybody turned a year older :)

New teachers came to our school who are now new friends

My Spanish has been tested beyond belief

I met some pretty neat people this year ;)

Worked another season at Smokies Baseball Park

My brother and his wife had their first child...what a blessing Miley is to our family!  :)

And I am sure there is much more...take time to reflect today...the things listed above may seem ordinary to you...it may not have been my most "exciting" year, but God teaches us through all things.

I see new life...I see love...I see learning...I see life being lived.  Jesus calls us to that...allowing God to make the ordinary extraordinary...

So here's to a new year...of new life, of love, of learning, of living with a renewed spirit...seeing ordinary things as God sees them.

Oh the Drive...

If you know me pretty well, you know I complain about driving when I go home...maybe it's just habit..anyway, I always have good stories.  Like today...on the road by 6:15 AM (yep you read that correctly)...stopped at 7:15 to get breakfast and much needed large coffee at El McDonaldos...pouring down rain...and I fly by the cash window like it's not going to be open...to which the woman YELLS "Hey!  Hey!  Hey!  Come back!"  Yes, I am almost 30 years old...hopefully you do dumb stuff too and are still able to laugh at yourself.

Anyway, back to my original thought...driving...I complain, but really, the time on the road is therapy for me. It gives me time to think, reflect, be quiet and still.  So today, say around 8:00, Lashonda and I were gettin it down I75 and I started thinking about the three wise men.  Rumor has it (not Adele) that they finally got to see Jesus when he was about 2 years old.  Well, I thought about that and how they had to carry those gifts for a long time and probably answer a lot of questions along the way..."Dude, are you still looking for that baby King?"  "What's that?"  "Why don't you just give it up?"  Yes, I realize I am processing this through my English, first world brain, but stay with me...

So I thought about how we relate to the wise men...we have these gifts...some of us can sing, some people can work really hard, others can make things, some people can listen to the craziest people and still love them...there are so many gifts represented in just the people that I know...and we all journey.  None of us has "arrived."  We are still looking, still anticipating, still answering a whole lot of questions while we journey toward the King.  I'm so glad we're all in the same boat...that we journey together...that we have this amazing hope that we know we will bow before one day.  And more than that, I am so grateful that I get to see the gifts and sacrifices in use along the way.

So, what is your gift?  Your sacrifice?  Are you holding tightly to it, waiting until the day finally comes when you meet the King?  Or are you sharing it along the way?  If you walk toward the King, people will ask you some questions...what is your response?

God,
Thank you for the gifts that you give...
Thank you for the journey that you call us to.
Help us to walk,
Help us to share,
Help us to see the beauty of the journey,
The wealth of the gifts,
The King that we serve,
And the ways that we can bless.
Amen.

Gifts of the Season?

Last night, I had the rare opportunity to sing back-up for Keith and Kristyn Getty...during the concert I experienced moments of laughter, times of wide-eyed wonder at the music being produced, and moments of awe and silence...during the song below, I stood there, eyes closed, just being still...

Still, my soul be still

With shield of faith Words and Music by Keith & Kristyn Getty & Stuart Townend  

Still my soul be still 

And do not fear 

Though winds of change may rage tomorrow

God is at your side 

No longer dread 

The fires of unexpected sorrow  

God You are my God 

And I will trust in You and not be shaken 

Lord of peace renew 

A steadfast spirit within me 

To rest in You alone  

Still my soul be still 

Do not be moved 

By lesser lights and fleeting shadows 

Hold onto His ways 

Against temptations flaming arrows  

Still my soul be still 

Do not forsake 

The Truth you learned in the beginning 

Wait upon the Lord 

And hope will rise As stars appear when day is dimming   

Kristyn Getty said something that stuck with me last night...she said that God gives us the gifts of advent at all times...not just for this season...

God gives hope, peace, joy, and love in all seasons, in all circumstances...they are new each morning...as you wake, remember these things...you KNOW them, so experience them...

God is hope.

God is peace.

God is joy.

God is love.

Be still and know that he is God...

Be still and know the gifts that he gives,

The gifts that God is...

Give Us A Hand...

Poetry by Ann Weems

In the godforsaken, obscene quicksand of life,
there is a deafening alleluia
rising from the souls of those who weep,
and of those who weep with those who weep.
If you watch, you will see
the hand of God
putting the stars back in their skies
one by one
Yesterday's Pain
Some of us walk in Advent
tethered to our unresolved yesterdays
the pain still stabbing
the hurt still throbbing.
It's not that we don't know better;
it's just that we can't stand up anymore by ourselves.
On the way of Bethlehem, will you give us a hand?

I received a Christmas card yesterday from one of the ladies we caroled to the other night...she said, "You don't know how much that meant to me."  Others said that their Christmas season was better because of a few songs and hugs...will you allow God to give you a hand this season?  To fill you with rejoicing....bringing joy again?  And will you allow others to give you hand?  Will you reach your hands out in offering?

All the angels could do was rejoice...and say "Alleluia."  Do you hear the chorus?  Is it making you cover your ears? Or have you joined the loud chorus?  Screaming, singing, whatever it may be...God asks us to join the Alleluias....this is offering.

THE Christmas Story

So, I was reading THE Christmas story to my ESL kiddos yesterday and today...we were doing a legit activity with vocabulary and such...and I noticed that each time an angel announced God's plans and good news, the angels prefaced it with "Don't be afraid..."

So, the message for us today?  Don't be afraid..

God woke Mary up in the middle of the night with a stirring...
She went and met an angel
Who told her she would become pregnant...
With God's Son...
She was scared.
But, she said yes anyway.
She decided to let things happen "as God chooses."

Joseph wanted to marry a pure young woman.
She shows up pregnant....
Yeah Joseph, it's not yours, but it's God's...
Huh?
Yeah...
Joseph wakes up to the voice of God
Telling him to marry Mary..
He lays fears aside and decides to trust God.

The shepherds were minding their own business,
Keeping watch over their sheep,
In the dark,
In the middle of nowhere.
Angels appear and tell them to go find their Savior...
They tremble,
They probably stare wide-eyed, jaws dropped...
But they decided it was probably worth it
To meet a baby King that would save them all.

Throughout time, people have had to decide
What to do with fear.
We will fear.
We will be afraid.
But, what do we do with angels telling us "Do not be afraid..."
Do we listen?
Do we walk forward?
Or do we stay in the fear?

Joy...Do not be afraid, for I bring you good tidings of great joy!
Leave fear behind...move toward joy.                     

Caroling, Caroling!

Last night, some friends of mine were kind enough to join me in caroling to some older folks from our church.  We met and the caravan began around town.  We started at a dear friend's from the choir...she is in her 80s and just lost her husband...and her husband was amazing...one of the funniest people I have ever met.  So, we sang a little, she came out, gave the kiddos some candy (always a good move), and she surprised me when I looked and saw tears in her eyes.  She said, "This is going to be a hard Christmas, but you made it better."  

At other times, the older people sang along, kids ran up and down halls, the baby even danced a little and sang "da da das" with Away in a Manger.  At one point, we were in this tiny apartment visiting a long time member of our church and she was so excited to see the children...she opened her arms to hug the two 5 year old...I looked at their faces and they registered panic!  The boy stared wide-eyed at her and started to back away..I just watched and honestly, wanted to laugh a little.  Eventually, he gave in and hugged her.  These are the memories that make me realize that those moments made me who I am today...learning to hug an old person...life lessons.  :)

We spent maybe an hour and a half making deliveries, singing, and running around...but I just had this moment of pure joy...sitting in my banged up car named Lashonda...I said to my friend Meg, "We really have good friends and good people."  Yes, that may be oversimplifying it, but people showed up to do something as simple as walk around, share their kids, sing, and tell people that we love them.  Small, but huge.  This is what we are all about.  This is the kingdom...this is Heaven on Earth.  I hope that the people we visited were encouraged...but I can't help but think that we were changed because we were forced to look outside of ourselves and to be a little less selfish.  

Have you seen beyond yourself today?  All of us have different circumstances...but, in the end, we can all look and see past that in order to make the day better for someone else.  Jesus made things better for us....he brought light into darkness...why shouldn't we do the same?