Am I the only one who is always surprised when Christmas comes? It creeps up on me and it's hard to wrap my mind around the fact that it will be over soon. I spent the last week at the escuela trying to survive each day. I started counting each day as victory...yes, on Wednesday, one of my kids exposed himself to another child and I had to yell at him like he was three years old. And yes, I got the best present of my three years teaching ESL, a squishy pink bear phone case...and yes, four kids sang Christmas carols to the adults in prayer meeting on Wednesday night and sounded like an army of little voices...I hugged some older folks' necks at the nursing home Wednesday night...and played with my friend's little girl on Saturday night, all the time wondering where the years have gone with that one. Life is busy...it happens so fast...and I try to do my best to seize it, to go as much as I can because really, it's not my obsessive need for social interaction, it's that I love these people and the ways we can be present to each other.
I have a wonderful family. I drove a long time in the rain yesterday to get here, to be with them for the holidays. I love the memories they created for me, and that we still create. I love that they know me and still love me. I love that with family there is a deep connection that cannot be severed or even explained to others who have not lived the connection...the connection of hard times and joyous times, of being so committed to each other that the thought of losing them is like losing life itself.
And while my family cannot be replaced, I am so thankful for the ways that family has been extended to me. Before I left, one of my friends asked me, "When are you coming home? Notice that I said home referring to Jeff City." And yes, it is home. God has been gracious enough to allow me to pour myself into people there, and more than that, others have opened their arms and hearts and homes to me. There aren't people I would rather be with. God has connected us in ways that only my heart can grasp. It cannot be expressed. They are family to me. And it's primarily because of the way my family loved me and taught me how to love others.
As I write this, my dad is playing the piano, filling our home with music...Thank you for being present to me--Mama, Daddy, Grandma, Bethany, Jamie, Melonie, little girl Miley...so that I can be present to others.
Monday, December 23, 2013
Friday, December 20, 2013
Conspire...
Several years ago, our church participated in the Advent Conspiracy, an effort to reclaim Christmas as believers. Today, I remind myself and you what it is we are about this season...
1) Worship Fully
2) Spend Less
3) Give More
4) Love All
Isn't this what Jesus taught us by coming? The people had been walking in darkness without a Savior...they knew only in part. With the arrival of Jesus, they knew FULLY. So let us in turn worship fully. Jesus gave his life to meet the needs of others, and in the end, gave us ALL. We, in turn, must give more. Love all...pretty much says it all. Jesus did not come for the elite, or even just for the poor. Jesus came as a Savior of ALL people, so why should we withhold from the rich? From the poor? From our own family members?
Let us take to heart the message of Advent--seek with hope, be at peace, share joy, love all...and Christ will come....again and again.
1) Worship Fully
2) Spend Less
3) Give More
4) Love All
Isn't this what Jesus taught us by coming? The people had been walking in darkness without a Savior...they knew only in part. With the arrival of Jesus, they knew FULLY. So let us in turn worship fully. Jesus gave his life to meet the needs of others, and in the end, gave us ALL. We, in turn, must give more. Love all...pretty much says it all. Jesus did not come for the elite, or even just for the poor. Jesus came as a Savior of ALL people, so why should we withhold from the rich? From the poor? From our own family members?
Let us take to heart the message of Advent--seek with hope, be at peace, share joy, love all...and Christ will come....again and again.
Thursday, December 19, 2013
God With Us
From a song we are singing this coming Sunday...
"And before my head agrees, my heart is on its knees. Holy is he. Blessed am I."
God sent Jesus with a promise....God with us. In our groggy mornings, in the breath-taking deep blue grey of the mountains, in the sugar-crazed energy of hundreds of kids at school, in the still moments right before we fall asleep at night, in the dreams we dream each night...this is how I have come to perceive Immanuel in my almost 31 years, but today I got an eye exam...and I see it a little more clearly.
Mary began to understand this concept of Immanuel when the angel told her she would deliver God's son...God was truly with Mary. Mary carried God with her, deep within her...he took form inside her. Her heart knew the answer before her head could grasp what was happening. Her heart cried out, "Yes! God with us!"
We have the opportunity for God to take residence within us...the truth of God with us. Some of us have answered the angel's voice with a Yes, but we haven't allowed the fullness of God to develop within us. Immanuel--God with us, not just walking alongside us, but truly with us, in us, being formed within us, and in turn, forming us.
"And before my head agrees, my heart is on its knees. Holy is he. Blessed am I."
God sent Jesus with a promise....God with us. In our groggy mornings, in the breath-taking deep blue grey of the mountains, in the sugar-crazed energy of hundreds of kids at school, in the still moments right before we fall asleep at night, in the dreams we dream each night...this is how I have come to perceive Immanuel in my almost 31 years, but today I got an eye exam...and I see it a little more clearly.
Mary began to understand this concept of Immanuel when the angel told her she would deliver God's son...God was truly with Mary. Mary carried God with her, deep within her...he took form inside her. Her heart knew the answer before her head could grasp what was happening. Her heart cried out, "Yes! God with us!"
We have the opportunity for God to take residence within us...the truth of God with us. Some of us have answered the angel's voice with a Yes, but we haven't allowed the fullness of God to develop within us. Immanuel--God with us, not just walking alongside us, but truly with us, in us, being formed within us, and in turn, forming us.
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
Jesus and Dollywood...
So the other night, one of my friends and I headed to Dollywood with her grandparents to see the lights and a few Christmas shows. Yes, I said Dollywood....doing it up right in East TN. In one of the shows there was a song I've never heard...I still don't know the name of it, but as I sat there, I noticed that it began with the angel that announced the news of Jesus to Mary and Joseph sang first. Then Mary sang by herself, then Joseph, and then all three were singing separate parts that were layered together to form one sound.
I had a moment of realization that God worked in the hearts and lives of individuals to bring about something bigger. God thought enough of the individual to know that they each needed a different word, a different sign, a different time to come to terms with what they were called to do. And because they each heard it in a different way, it came together to complete the bigger picture.
God still comes today...God knows the way we need to hear, the words we must hear, the time that is right...and in that working, God brings about something bigger...the kingdom here on this earth. Isn't that what it all started as? God coming to earth in the form of a baby....God is still coming to earth...through each of us. God takes individuals and layers them together to create a united, beautiful song...will you sing with me?
I had a moment of realization that God worked in the hearts and lives of individuals to bring about something bigger. God thought enough of the individual to know that they each needed a different word, a different sign, a different time to come to terms with what they were called to do. And because they each heard it in a different way, it came together to complete the bigger picture.
God still comes today...God knows the way we need to hear, the words we must hear, the time that is right...and in that working, God brings about something bigger...the kingdom here on this earth. Isn't that what it all started as? God coming to earth in the form of a baby....God is still coming to earth...through each of us. God takes individuals and layers them together to create a united, beautiful song...will you sing with me?
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
Something to Ponder...
The Refugees
Ann Weems
Into the wild and painful cold of the starless winter night
came the refugees,
slowly making their way to the border.
The man, stooped from age or anxiety,
hurried his small family through the wind.
Bearded and dark, his skin rough and cracked from the cold,
his frame looming large in spite of the slumped shoulders:
He looked like a man who could take care of whatever
came at them
from the dark.
Unless, of course, there were too many of them.
One man he could handle...two, even...
but the border patrol...
they wouldn't have a chance.
His eyes, black and alert,
darted from side to side, then over his shoulder,
then back again forward.
Had they been seen?
Had they been heard?
Every rustle of wind, every sigh from the child,
sent terror through his chest.
Was this the way?
Even the stars had been unkind--
had hidden themselves in the ink of night
so that the man could not read their way.
Only the wind...was it enough?
Only the wind and his innate sense of direction...
What kind of a ruel judgment would that be,
to wander in circles through the night?
Or to safely make their way to the border
only to find the authorities waiting for them?
He glanced at the young woman, his bride.
No more than a child herself,
she nuzzled their newborn, kidding his neck.
She looked up, caught his eye, and smiled.
Oh, how the homelessness had taken its toll on her!
Her eyes were red, her young face lined,
her lovely hair natted from inattention,
her clothes stained from milk and baby,
her hands chapped from the raw wind of winter.
She'd hardly had time to recover from childbirth
when word had come that they were hunted,
and they fled with only a little bread,
the remaining wine,
and a very small portion of cheese.
Suddenly, the child began to make small noises.
The man drew his breath in sharply;
the woman quietly put the child to breast.
Fear.....long dread-filled moments.........
Huddled, the family stood still in the long silence.
At last the man breathed deeply again,
reassured they had not been heard.
And into the night continued
Mary and Joseph and the Babe.
Ann Weems
Into the wild and painful cold of the starless winter night
came the refugees,
slowly making their way to the border.
The man, stooped from age or anxiety,
hurried his small family through the wind.
Bearded and dark, his skin rough and cracked from the cold,
his frame looming large in spite of the slumped shoulders:
He looked like a man who could take care of whatever
came at them
from the dark.
Unless, of course, there were too many of them.
One man he could handle...two, even...
but the border patrol...
they wouldn't have a chance.
His eyes, black and alert,
darted from side to side, then over his shoulder,
then back again forward.
Had they been seen?
Had they been heard?
Every rustle of wind, every sigh from the child,
sent terror through his chest.
Was this the way?
Even the stars had been unkind--
had hidden themselves in the ink of night
so that the man could not read their way.
Only the wind...was it enough?
Only the wind and his innate sense of direction...
What kind of a ruel judgment would that be,
to wander in circles through the night?
Or to safely make their way to the border
only to find the authorities waiting for them?
He glanced at the young woman, his bride.
No more than a child herself,
she nuzzled their newborn, kidding his neck.
She looked up, caught his eye, and smiled.
Oh, how the homelessness had taken its toll on her!
Her eyes were red, her young face lined,
her lovely hair natted from inattention,
her clothes stained from milk and baby,
her hands chapped from the raw wind of winter.
She'd hardly had time to recover from childbirth
when word had come that they were hunted,
and they fled with only a little bread,
the remaining wine,
and a very small portion of cheese.
Suddenly, the child began to make small noises.
The man drew his breath in sharply;
the woman quietly put the child to breast.
Fear.....long dread-filled moments.........
Huddled, the family stood still in the long silence.
At last the man breathed deeply again,
reassured they had not been heard.
And into the night continued
Mary and Joseph and the Babe.
Monday, December 16, 2013
Caroling Caroling!
Yes, it may be old fashioned...yes, it may make some of you cringe, or it may bring warm and fuzzies to some of you. At any rate, our Sunday school class went caroling last night. One of my friends said, "I hate you one day of the year...this one." hahaha...at least I get 364 other days!
We drove in a caravan around town, delivering poinsettias and singing familiar tunes. All this while a six year old, four year old, and two year old danced, sang a little, chased each other around in a circle, drank the resident's diet coke, ate a few marshmallows...
All this seems small...let's face it, we are small...the things we do sometimes seem to not matter. But that is the point...we are small, but God takes what we offer and makes it better and bigger.
As we sang to one of our elderly church members, he began to wipe tears from his eyes. For some people, this time of year is bittersweet. It brings back memories of the past...memories of goodness, of children, of spouses lost...
But we have the capacity to bring something small--a carol, a flower, a smile...to make a big difference in the hearts around us. Hearts that are waiting for a spark, for a new memory, for good news that we are able to give.
It matters.
We drove in a caravan around town, delivering poinsettias and singing familiar tunes. All this while a six year old, four year old, and two year old danced, sang a little, chased each other around in a circle, drank the resident's diet coke, ate a few marshmallows...
All this seems small...let's face it, we are small...the things we do sometimes seem to not matter. But that is the point...we are small, but God takes what we offer and makes it better and bigger.
As we sang to one of our elderly church members, he began to wipe tears from his eyes. For some people, this time of year is bittersweet. It brings back memories of the past...memories of goodness, of children, of spouses lost...
But we have the capacity to bring something small--a carol, a flower, a smile...to make a big difference in the hearts around us. Hearts that are waiting for a spark, for a new memory, for good news that we are able to give.
It matters.
Friday, December 13, 2013
Unexpected Joy
Does God ever catch you by surprise? Do you ever have moments that make your heart so full that you feel your eyes well up with tears? I love to watch my Daddy watch a Hallmark movie or music special on tv...he smiles as he watches and usually I can tell when his heart gets full.
Well, today God surprised me. I teach. I do what I do. I yell sometimes. I hug my kids. I want the best for them. Sometimes they drive me absolutely crazy. They had a dance today so you know they were all hyped out of their minds. Well, I'm still trying to get work out of them..."Sit yourself down and get going!" "Come on...you don't have to go to that party!" Sound familiar? In the middle of all of it, one of them starts singing...off key, but still. He said, "Miss Saunders, you know this song?" And in broken English he began to sing "Happy Birthday, Jesus." Yes, the child chose the cheesiest Christmas song...but I pulled it up and three little 9 year olds sat around and sang Happy Birthday Jesus in broken notes and language. I looked at him and his eyes were shining with tears. I almost lost it.
God is moving...and Christ still comes...through music, through broken English, through yelling and caring, through school walls, through hearts that are softened toward the spirit of God. Thank you, Jesus for putting me exactly where I needed to be today.
Well, today God surprised me. I teach. I do what I do. I yell sometimes. I hug my kids. I want the best for them. Sometimes they drive me absolutely crazy. They had a dance today so you know they were all hyped out of their minds. Well, I'm still trying to get work out of them..."Sit yourself down and get going!" "Come on...you don't have to go to that party!" Sound familiar? In the middle of all of it, one of them starts singing...off key, but still. He said, "Miss Saunders, you know this song?" And in broken English he began to sing "Happy Birthday, Jesus." Yes, the child chose the cheesiest Christmas song...but I pulled it up and three little 9 year olds sat around and sang Happy Birthday Jesus in broken notes and language. I looked at him and his eyes were shining with tears. I almost lost it.
God is moving...and Christ still comes...through music, through broken English, through yelling and caring, through school walls, through hearts that are softened toward the spirit of God. Thank you, Jesus for putting me exactly where I needed to be today.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)