2014 Resolutions

It's early (well, 10 or so days early), but here are my resolutions for 2014.

1. First of the month photo journal
Take a picture of the view out my front door (or wherever, as long as it is the same place/time each first of the month). In the likely event that we move (just to a different house, probably), or if we happen to be out of town on the first of the month, I will find a different front door view. Will start this January 1st, of course.

2. Lectionary Blogs 
A blogpost reflecting on the day's Scripture from the Revised Common Lectionary. I have already started on some of these (thanks, scheduled posting!) for the likely event that I fall behind on this. Basically I am just going to read through the Scriptures and blog about whatever the Lord places on my heart. I'm guessing the quality will change from day to day...but mostly this is an exercise for me. If you are blessed/challenged by reading it, then thank God! I really desire to be in the Word regularly, and not only that but thinking about it and reflecting on it. So this is my attempt at that.

3. Prayer Life
I am terrible at praying. Period. Anything will be an improvement. Currently, my most consistent prayers are in the middle of the night when I am rocking with my son, who has trouble sleeping. I pray for obvious things like rest, and for our little family. If someone asks me for prayer, I pray right then and there, because I don't want to say, "I'll pray for you" and then completely forget. Let's face it. I will forget. Sorry. I don't want to forget. Ultimately I think that wanting to be a better pray-er is a twofold thing. I want to be closer to God, and I want to think of others more than I think of myself. The way I hope to accomplish this is yet unknown. I think that writing them down is a good start (or more likely, writing a note on my phone), and then checking the list throughout the day. That's all I have so far. I think a journal is a good idea...but I have never been a consistent journaler (journalist?). Blogging doesn't count.

4. Be the person I want to be
Continue working through this list. Basically I want to be a better wife and mom, and a better me.

That's it. Instead of doing something crazy like 14 goals for 2014, I've just taken the last number, 4. Four goals. Working through them daily is the goal (except for the first one, obviously)...but we'll see how I'm doing come January 3.

EDIT/ADDITION

5. 5K
I'd like to run a 5K sometime in 2014. Probably toward the end.

Lent Project - February 22

Friday, February 22

Scripture: Psalm 27, Genesis 14:17-24, Philippians 3:17-20

Questions/Thoughts: List characteristics of God as you find them in these passages. Have you experienced these characteristics? How? What does it look like to be a citizen  of Heaven?

Prayer:

Jesus,

May our hearts be burning with more fervent love for you;

may our eyes be ever turning to behold your cross anew;

till in glory, parted never from the blessed Savior’s side,

graven in our hearts forever, dwell the cross, Crucified.

Amen

Lent Project - February 21

Thursday, February 21

Scripture: Psalm 27, Genesis 13:1-7, 14-18, Philippians 3:2-12

Questions/Thoughts: What can we learn about prayer from the Psalm? What can we learn about waiting patiently for the Lord? What do you think was going through Abram’s mind when the Lord was telling him of the land and descendants the Lord would give him? What are some things that you once thought were valuable, but are actually worthless when compared to know Christ Jesus? How are we made right with God?

Prayer:

As you did hunger and did thirst,

so teach us, gracious Lord, to die to self,

and so to live by your most holy Word.

And through these days of penitence,

and through your Passiontide,

for evermore, in life and death,

O Lord, with us abide.

Abide with us and through this life our doubts and pain relieve.

An Easter of unending joy we shall at last receive.

Amen

Lent Project - February 18

Monday, February 18

Scripture: Psalm 17, 1 Chronicles 21:1-17, 1 John 2:1-6

Questions/Thoughts: What kind of relationship does David have with God? Why do you think God was displeased with David taking a census? How does David own up to his sin? How is our sin atoned for? What does it look like to live your life as Jesus did?

Prayer:

As you (Jesus) with Satan did contend,

and did the vict’ry win, 

oh, give us strength in you to fight,

in you to conquer sin.

Shrove Tuesday, Fat Tuesday, Pancake Day, Mardi Gras, etc

Tuesday, February 12, Shrove Tuesday, etc

The day before Lent begins is celebrated around the world, and known by a variety of names (Shrove Tuesday, Fat Tuesday, Pancake Day, Mardi Gras, etc). Traditionally, food that you normally wouldn’t eat during Lent is eaten on this day, and there are different festivities that happen depending on where you are in the world.

Scripture: Psalm 35:11-28, Ezekiel 1:1—2:1, Acts 10:23b-33

Questions/Thoughts: What stands out to you in the Psalmist’s prayer today? How is the glory of God described in Ezekiel’s vision? If you are into drawing (or even if you aren’t), perhaps it would be a fun exercise to try to draw what Ezekiel describes. How was Peter stretched beyond what was comfortable for him in his visit with Cornelius? How might you be stretched over this Lenten season? How were Ezekiel’s and Cornelius’s visions similar?

Prayer: 

Holy God, mighty and immortal,
you are beyond our knowing,
yet we see your glory in the face of Jesus Christ,
whose compassion illumines the world.
Transform us into the likeness of the love of Christ,
who renewed our humanity so that we may share in his divinity,
the same Jesus Christ, our Lord,
who live and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit. 

Amen.

Monday, Monday.

Monday, February 11

Scripture: Psalm 35:11-28, Exodus 35:1-29, Acts 10:9-23a

Questions/Thoughts: How does the Psalmist deal with those who are against him? What is the Psalmist’s prayer? What are some gifts that the Lord has given you that you can use for Him? For what do you think the Lord was preparing Peter? What do you think the dream was about?

Prayer: 

You revealed your glory and presence
in your beloved Son, Jesus the Christ.
In receiving our prayers,
reveal the glory and presence of your Spirit
alive in the world today,
free us from all doubts,
and empower us to act as a transfigured people. 

Amen.

Productivity

I'm working on a project...a Lent project! It will look verrrry similar to my Advent/Christmas/Epiphany project, and will start, Lord willing, on February 10: Transfiguration Sunday! Ash Wednesday isn't until the 13th of February, but like the other project, sometimes it's nice to get started a couple days in advance.

As always, I hope you enjoy (and even if you don't, I enjoy. So this is what you get, dear blog reader!).

Obligatory blog post. New Resolution.

Well, I didn't finish the book I thought I would finish yet. Maybe this weekend. 

I am seriously contemplating being done with Facebook by the end of 2013. Or at the very least down to checking it very infrequently, which is more doable. I just have so many pictures on Facebook, and I really do like people's comments and my own commentary on them. It's the closest thing I will probably have to a scrapbook. And for some of my facebook friends, I really have no other contact information for them other than facebook (which I guess could be remedied if I actually started using email for personal interaction). So probably will take a lot of work if I decide to completely deactivate my account. That's why I'm giving myself until the end of the year to figure it out.

By the way, if I do start using email more frequently, you can bet that I will never send you a forward. That's a promise. 

Anyway, that is an add-on to my first resolution. Still plan to give it up completely for Lent, and then go from there.

By the by, my weekly visitors for this blog have reached a special number:

favorite number

Anyway. The verses for today from the Revised Common Lectionary are: Psalm 29, Ecclesiastes 3:1-15, and 1 Corinthians 2:11-16.

Blessings.

Daily verses to last you a couple years or so

As always, I am working on a project. No pictures yet, because it is all in my head right now.

It might be epic.

Anyway, if it ever works I will post about it here. Until then, here are some links that I am using for it, that I don't want to lose, and are also good to share.

Enjoy.

Daily readings year A
Daily readings year B
Daily readings year C

A hint as to what I'm working on.

Verse of the day, from Biblegateway.com. Emphasis mine.

“[The Resurrection of Christ] Let me now remind you, dear brothers and sisters, of the Good News I preached to you before. You welcomed it then, and you still stand firm in it. I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said.” 1 Corinthians 15:1, 3-4 NLT

Unsolved Mysteries

Well as you may know, my cell phone is quite old-fashioned. It can make calls and texts, tell me when to wake up, and take some tiny pictures and (sometimes) send them to Twitter. I also utilize the Notepad feature quite a bit. No fancy shmancy touchscreen or data plan though.

So anyway, I need to make room to make more notes (I guess 30 notes is the limit), and I thought I would  get rid of some here. There are two notes that have Scripture passages that I apparently wanted to remember, but don't necessarily remember why. Hopefully when I look them up there will be a theme or something. Anyway, I'm posting them here, so that I don't have to have them taking up precious note space on my tiny red phone.

But first: 

Does anyone know what kind of tree this is? It is the most beautiful spring tree ever in the world. I get to walk past it every day, and I love my life. It is constantly shedding petals in the most beautiful way. I would like to have a bunch in my yard someday, should I ever grow up and have a yard (and then when my children get married, I will transplant them (the trees, not the kids) to line their outdoor spring wedding. The trees will also serve as a flower girl, if needed). So it is really quite important that you find out what kind of tree this is for me. Ok, thanks.
PS....took this picture with my phone. Make of it what you will.

Note 1:
Genesis 38:17
Genesis 43:8
Genesis 45:5
Isaiah 6:8
Isaiah 58:9
Numbers 13:2

Note 2:
Proverbs 16:9
Proverbs 19:2
Proverbs 25:25
Proverbs 27:2


Expanded for blog:

Genesis 38:17

“I’ll send you a young goat from my flock,” Judah promised.

“But what will you give me to guarantee that you will send the goat?” she asked.

Genesis 43:8

Judah said to his father, “Send the boy with me, and we will be on our way. Otherwise we will all die of starvation—and not only we, but you and our little ones.

Genesis 45:5

But don’t be upset, and don’t be angry with yourselves for selling me to this place. It was God who sent me here ahead of you to preserve your lives.

Isaiah 6:8

Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?”

I said, “Here I am. Send me.”

Isaiah 58:9

Then when you call, the Lord will answer.
    ‘Yes, I am here,’ he will quickly reply.

“Remove the heavy yoke of oppression.
    Stop pointing your finger and spreading vicious rumors!

Numbers 13:2

“Send out men to explore the land of Canaan, the land I am giving to the Israelites. Send one leader from each of the twelve ancestral tribes.”

Ok, as it turns out, I have no idea why I was saving these particular verses (send/sent in common?).

Moving on to note 2.

....

Proverbs 16:9

We can make our plans,
    but the Lord determines our steps.

Proverbs 19:2

Enthusiasm without knowledge is no good;
    haste makes mistakes.

Proverbs 25:25

Good news from far away
    is like cold water to the thirsty.

Proverbs 27:2

Let someone else praise you, not your own mouth—
    a stranger, not your own lips.

So there you have it. The ones from Proverbs are ones I think about often, so maybe just wanted the references to be able to remember where to find them? We may never know.

Also, don't forget to tell me what kind of tree that is.

Authority

Reading through the book of Matthew for a class. The paper is due by midnight. I've already posted a passage as a facebook status, and don't want to be too overwhelming, so will post this one here. Got to spread it out, people.

Matthew 8:5-13. I too, am amazed by this man's faith, and his understanding of authority.


The Faith of a Roman Officer 

5 When Jesus returned to Capernaum, a Roman officer came and pleaded with him, 

6 “Lord, my young servant lies in bed, paralyzed and in terrible pain.”

7 Jesus said, “I will come and heal him.”

8 But the officer said, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come into my home. Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed. 

9 I know this because I am under the authority of my superior officers, and I have authority over my soldiers. I only need to say, ‘Go,’ and they go, or ‘Come,’ and they come. And if I say to my slaves, ‘Do this,’ they do it.”

10 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. Turning to those who were following him, he said, “I tell you the truth, I haven’t seen faith like this in all Israel! 

11 And I tell you this, that many Gentiles will come from all over the world—from east and west—and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the feast in the Kingdom of Heaven. 

12 But many Israelites—those for whom the Kingdom was prepared—will be thrown into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

13 Then Jesus said to the Roman officer, “Go back home. Because you believed, it has happened.” And the young servant was healed that same hour.

Exodus

I'm sitting here reading Exodus for a class, and am struck by a few things (as always when you sit and read a book of the Bible in one sitting), but mainly how much I can relate to Moses. And how the Israelites are such whiners.
Don't get me wrong. Most times I can relate to the Israelites, because I too am fickle, forgetful, and tend to romanticize the past.
But this time around, my heart goes out to Moses. When God tells him to speak to the people, he freaks out because he is not gifted in that way. Then God says, big deal, I created your mouth. I will tell you what to say. And Moses isn't convinced. So God gives him all these miracles to perform. And Moses is still insecure. And on and on. Moses had murdered someone in his past. He wasn't a good speaker. He was 80. And God still used him in such great ways, even though he doubted so much.
And then the people. They were treated so brutally in Egypt. Yet when the slightest thing goes wrong, they whine and whine and whine. They question Moses' leadership skills (um, hello. He's already insecure, and just doing what God told him to do). They say that they would be better off back in Egypt (which, when they left, was in shambles). Come on, people.

Sorry to get all riled up. Have you sat and read the book of Exodus lately? In spite of all disappointing, untrusting people, God is still mighty, and is in control.  He loves His people and provides for them (us) even though they (we) are highly forgetful and short-sighted. It is a great reminder to be thankful in all circumstances, among other things.

The Good News from Genesis

Turns out this semester is going to be a lot of papers and reading and whatnot. Lots and lots of both on a weekly basis. And classroom presentations and such. So not a ton of time for me to make pictures and post them to the blog. But I will post a paper from time to time. So you don't forget about me.



Something to listen to while you read my paper for my Bible and Mission class (sorry for the formatting...or lack thereof).

In reading through the book of Genesis in a short amount of time, I noticed a few patterns that were evident throughout: “be fruitful and multiply,” sibling rivalry, the ways that God spoke to people, and God’s hand and presence in the lives of His people. In the lecture, it is apparent that the book of Genesis is the beginning of a grand story of God’s mission that began even before the fall of man: a “God with us” mission story that has three of its acts in the book of Genesis (creation, fall, and the beginning of the story of Israel). In this essay, I will look at the patterns that were evident to me in the book of Genesis, the lecture’s look at Genesis being the beginning of the story of God’s mission, and answer the question, “If the book of Genesis was the only book of the Bible that we had, what good news would we have about the relationship between God and His World?”

The blessing to “be fruitful and multiply” is given by God many times throughout the book of Genesis: once to His creatures in the sea and in the air, once to Adam and Eve, twice to Noah and his family, once to Abraham and Sarah in reference to Ishmael, and three times to Jacob (once via Isaac, and another time Jacob is recalling the story to Joseph). Two of these blessings were before the fall, and the rest after. God called His creation “good,” and blessed them to be able to multiply. It is evident that God has wanted to be in relationship with His creation, and for them to also be in good relationship with each other. In the lecture it says, “Mission is a part of the nature of God. We might say (as God later says of Adam) that it is not good for God “to be alone.” Mission should not be limited to fixing what is broken, because God’s mission of community and relationship was around long before the fall. In the lecture, Grant talks about how we were created in God’s image, and how it is our job to “to be God’s image in the world; [we are not to] abandon this representative mission to God’s creation.”

So while God’s (and our) mission is not first and foremost a fix-up mission, there are definitely elements of that when we consider the brokenness of relationships that occurred when Adam and Eve disobeyed God. I was struck by how many instances of sibling rivalry are documented throughout Genesis (Cain/Abel, Jacob/Esau, Perez/Zerah, Rachel/Leah, Joseph/his brothers...to name a few!). The closest relative one has, and one of the first communities a person is a part of, is a sibling. Throughout Genesis, we see how broken these relationships (and others) can be, but we also see a glimpse of God’s mission when they are redeemed (most touching for me were Jacob/Esau in Genesis 33 and Joseph/his brothers in 45).

More ways that we can see God’s desire of relationship with His people in Genesis is in how he interacts with them, and how his hand and presence are evident in their life. If Genesis were the only book of the Bible that we had available to us, we might not know the good news of how God loved the world so much that He sent Jesus to save it. Grant put it so nicely in the lecture when he said, “God so loved the world that he did not remain aloof, but God himself came in the person of the Jesus...God is the missionary, the one who crosses cultures, giving up all the privileges of Godhead and becoming a servant (Phil 2:5–11).”

In Genesis, we might not know about Jesus, but we can see how much God loves His people, in the way that he speaks directly to them (either they hear His voice, or He sends a messenger, or He speaks to them in a dream, etc). Adam and Eve walked with God in the Garden of Eden and Jacob wrestled with God. God even spoke to people in dreams that did not necessarily know him (Pharaoh). Even though the folks in Genesis did not have the man, Jesus, to be in close relationship with, they had a God who was very present in their lives. God’s hand is evident throughout the course of Joseph’s life, from allowing his mother to be pregnant with him, to keeping him safe in prison, to putting him the position to help his long-lost family during the great famine. In Genesis 45:4b-8 Joseph acknowledges this:

“And he said again, “I am Joseph, your brother, whom you sold into slavery in Egypt. But don’t  be upset, and don’t be angry with yourselves for selling me to this place. It was God who sent me  here ahead of you to preserve your lives. This famine that has ravaged the land for two years will  last five more years, and there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. God has sent me ahead of  you to keep you and your families alive and to preserve many survivors. So it was God who sent  me here, not you! And he is the one who made me an adviser to Pharaoh—the manager of his  entire palace and the governor of all Egypt.”

Even through all this brokenness, God works to keep Joseph’s family alive, to help preserve them, so that they can be fruitful and multiply, and know God’s presence in their lives, and His love for them.

So back to the question at hand, “If the book of Genesis was the only book of the Bible that we had, what good news would we have about the relationship between God and His World?” The good news about the relationship between God and His World is that God created the world so that we could be in relationship with Him. Even after sin entered the scene, and relationships across the board were broken, God still actively participates in the lives of His beloved people, continually bringing them back to Himself and each other. And we can see all of this happening in the book of Genesis.

A few things to get you through.

1. Here are a few songs to listen to while you read.  You are welcome.

2. Here's my latest from Twitter, if you aren't already into that kind of thing: Philippians 1:18 is what I think about whenever anyone brings up Tim Tebow, which is all the time. http://goo.gl/IvTyd

3. I need to go and get my ears checked. Not because I suspect that I have hearing loss, but because I know it. I've been putting it off for a while because: a) I am pretty good at lip reading, b) Hearing aids cost the same as a nice computer and are not covered by insurance, and c) I am pretty horrible about going to the doctor in general. Lately though, I feel I've been missing out on a lot of conversation details, and the constant ringing in my ears never fails to remind me that I probably should have an audiologist figure it out. This past summer a doctor prescribed some allergy medication to see if that would help me to hear better. I am not sure that it worked. The doctor never tested my ears in the first place to see what level my hearing was at, and then I never went back to get them checked again after a month of the medication (and really, what would they compare it to?). We were probably both at fault. Really though, I think I need to just go to a place that knows what they're talking about when it comes to hearing.  In the meanwhile, here are some misconceptions that I would like to clear up.

          a) People who are hard of hearing didn't hear you because they weren't paying attention. On the contrary, we probably pay twice as much attention just to be involved in a conversation. Especially a conversation with a group of people. Sometimes when someone laughs at me because they've been apparently talking to me/trying to get my attention for a little while, and I haven't heard them...sometimes I will say, "sorry, I wasn't paying attention," since they are clearly already feeling uncomfortable at this point. But really, I just didn't hear them because they didn't already have my attention (or were talking softly, or not speaking clearly, etc). Being bad at hearing is way different than being bad at listening.

          b) People who didn't hear you must be dumb and not understand the content of what you were trying to say. Not true either. Dumb and smart have nothing to do with whether or not people can hear. Some people that can hear perfectly well are not so bright. Anyway, it is kind of insulting when you furrow your brow and say, "what?" and people start speaking in a slow, loud voice, dumbing down what they originally said....and some get confused when you simply ask for enunciation.

          c) I am judging your snaggle-tooth and want you to cover your mouth when you speak. You wouldn't think this is a problem, but it is! Stop covering your mouth when you speak, people. If I can't read your lips, and you are already a soft talker, covering your mouth is not going to help me hear what you are trying to communicate. I don't care if your teeth are crooked. I'm looking at your mouth because I can't hear you, not because I am judging you.

          d) People who can't hear must just need to clean their ears out. Well, that might be partially true. That certainly could be the cause of some people's hearing loss. But not everyone's. More than one doctor has remarked about how clean my ears are. Well, thank you for noticing. I clean them quite regularly because I don't want wax to block my already dull hearing. My hearing loss is likely hereditary, as a large percentage of people I am related to has a hearing aid. I almost never listen to music with headphones, or do anything else to cause my poor hearing. On the contrary, I try to preserve what little hearing I have, thank you very much.

Sorry. Just realized that this has become quite the rant. Just trying to raise awareness, people. And please don't look at me like I killed your grandmother's dog when I confess to you that sometimes I don't think it is worth saying "what?" and instead pretending like I know what's going on in the conversation. Sometimes it isn't worth it for someone else to get all frustrated because you can't hear them. And I've heard people talk about other people who can't hear, and how annoying it can be to communicate with them. Why would I want to bring that on myself?

Anyway, communication is a two-way street. I will go get my ears checked if you promise to speak clearly and look at me when you're talking (and to be more sensitive in general to those who can't hear).

4. It's that time of year, people. The time of year where I automatically start to think about where we will be living next fall and who our friends will be (if any) and which friends we will try to keep in touch with for a little while, and which friends will unfortunately slip through the cracks.  Since we've been married, Steve and I have moved every two (school) years. We are now at the beginning of the second semester of our second (second) school year here at Geneva, and I've naturally started thinking about friendships. This is the time of year in Higher Education when people have to start making decisions about their future (the next school year). Will I stay here, or will I move on? And while we have no real plans to move on just yet, I still have to think these thoughts, because A) this has been our pattern, and I have had to think about this sort of things every two years, and B) as is the nature of working (or shacking up with someone who works) in Higher Education, even if we stay put, there is a really great chance that some of our good friends will be moving on and out. It happens every year. Which gets me to thinking about a profound speech I heard toward the end of my freshman year of college. It has really stuck with me all these years, probably because it is always always practical. The speech was on friendships, and how there are those who are "friends for the road," and those who are "friends for the journey." Friends for the road are those who are friends (close friends even, but not always) for a time. They are not necessarily lifelong friends, and that is ok. It does not diminish your friendship now, and its importance. You should not stop being friends with someone because you suspect that they might be friends for the road (though it is sometimes hard during this time of the year). Friends for the road are still important for now. You need them. They need you. Don't miss out on something good, even if it is probably temporary. It is ok to have seasonal friends. Friends for the journey are those lifelong types. The ones where, even if they live halfway across the world, you will both make a point to communicate with each other, and carve time out of your schedule to see them, even if it is only once or twice a year, or via skype.  Sometimes, unfortunately, you can even lose touch with those who you thought were friends for the journey. Life just happens that way. Sometimes there are friends for the road that stay on the road with you for a little longer than others, and they can seem like friends for the journey. This analogy was much more beautiful when I heard it 10 (10!) years ago. But you get the gist. Anyway, this time of year, I start to wonder who my friends for the road are, and who my friends for the journey are. I hope that I don't give some friends for the road (or even those who are in it for the long haul) the shaft as we transition out of each other's lives. I will have to work extra hard to show my appreciation for their friendship, and wish them well in future endeavors. I don't know who this season's friends for the road and friends for the journey are yet. And that's ok. It's probably something that's better figured out in hindsight.  Plus I don't want to diminish friendships with people who will also be sticking around for another year...and with those who we don't yet know. You never know when you will meet another wonderful friend.

5. Sorry for the snark, lately. I deleted a couple of posts that I thought were too snarky. Sorry if you liked them. And sorry for my snarkiness in #6 of my resolutions. If you don't want to follow me in a reader, that is your perogative. I should just be thankful that you take the time to think of me. So thank you for that. I still probably won't heavily promote my blog, if it's all the same to you. You can promote it, if you want though.

6. On a lighter note, I am getting a haircut tomorrow night!  Woohoo!! For someone who loves getting haircuts as much as I do, I am a bit of an enigma (in the past few years I've only gone to get a haircut...twice a year tops). But it makes it a treat. Here are some of my ideas.

7. No new pictures, so you will have to settle for some old ones, made in Toronto's distillery district. I love red brick buildings with green doors.

Merry Christmas to you and yours

The semester is over, people!!

I should be packing, as we leave for the airport in 7 hours, but who can resist a blogpost? Not this girl.

Granted by the time you read this, it will already be a few days later (thanks, scheduled posting!).

Anyway, I hope you are hanging out with some loved ones and not reading this blog on Christmas day, but if you are reading...Merry Christmas!

Here are some Christmassy pictures from our living room.

The top (better) half of our Christmas tree, nativity scene in the background.

Some brown paper packages tied up with string. Thanks, Steve!

Also, a classic Christmas clip.



Cheers! See you in 2012!

(If you're looking for a recap of 2011, I didn't really do much more than what was talked about here).

Jesus -- putting the "Advent" into "Adventure" since before the beginning of time.

In 2008, my 197th resolution was to Devise a list of verses to read every day for Advent. I failed to do that that year. Perhaps because it was 197 on the list, or perhaps because Advent always sneaks up on me. Or perhaps it's because several others before me have already devised lists of verses to read every day for Advent (though that doesn't stop me from still wanting to make one on my own. It's a character flaw of mine).
Advent is the time of year that we prepare ourselves for Christmas. You can read about it on the ever-accurate Wikipedia. Wikipedia gets a bad rap a lot, but truthfully, it can be helpful when you just want to quickly get some information on something. I wouldn't recommend using it for a research paper, but for looking up what Advent is about on someone's blog...well, it's perfectly acceptable to utilize Wikipedia in this way. Anyway, plenty of churches observe Advent. Plenty of Christians observe Advent. Consumerism even does. Our Advent calendar that we've been using for the past few years was purchased at Starbucks, for example. Everyone wants to get in on the countdown (and eat candy every day until Christmas).
Anyway, it is now 2011, and I still haven't compiled a list of verses. Probably won't for this year, either. It is already the first Sunday in Advent, so time is running out, for one. For another, my school distributes an Advent devotional each year...so we've been using (and will use) that for our daily Advent needs (that, and the Starbucks tree filled with candy for each day until Christmas...the healthier me suggested we put mixed nuts in each box, but that suggestion lost out to Reese's Peanut Butter Cups).

Our Starbucks Advent Calendar. Each day in December you find the box corresponding to the day, eat the candy in it, and turn it around to reveal a piece of a picture. The closer you get to Christmas, the more you get to see of a fun wintery scene (snow on rooftops, people sledding, etc). This will be our 6th Advent with this bad boy. Usually we try to do an Advent reading before we eat the candy.

Anyway, what are we talking about? The first Sunday of Advent is today. When our alarms went off this morning we weren't thinking of that. All we could think of was how one of us did not feel well, and could probably benefit from some more sleep. The other, being a supportive spouse, stayed back too. After waking up a little more (mainly because one of us had to go help a locked-out student who didn't read carefully when students were allowed to move back into the buildings...it's not today, people....in hindsight, I feel bad for that student, who spent their Sabbath driving back to school, when they could've spent one more day with their family. Live and learn, I guess). Anyway, after waking up more fully, I was saddened a little that we missed church on the first Sunday of Advent. So we had our own little service here on the couch. We read all of the Scriptures suggested in the devotional, then read the devotional for the day, and then listened to about 20 versions of O Come, O Come Emmanuel on Grooveshark.
Here is one of the favorites:



We missed out on fellowship that going to church would've provided (but, with being sick, and then having to have left early to help a student....perhaps the only thing we missed out on was driving back and forth to and from church). Anyway, we had the Scripture, we had the songs, we even had some prayer and a little sermonette...and later, we could even catch up on the sermon we missed at church, thanks to technology.

All that being said, Happy Advent. Hopefully you can find your way through all of your Christmas lights and shopping lists (not necessarily bad things) to make time to prepare your heart for the true meaning of Christmas, and as we wait for Jesus to someday return!
Do you have any Advent traditions? What are they? Or, why not?
(I'm trying to be more interactive on this blog, for the sake of my 2 readers).

Love your neighbor.

It seems that I have been going through some sort of blogging slump lately. Not too many pictures or meaningful posts. The same goes with certain other social media venues that I employ (except Twitter, which I have no problem using on a minutely basis). Facebook is becoming more and more like email to me. Checking it only to see if there are any notifications, or if I need to get ahold of anyone (and skimming through pictures of people's kids...and quickly skimming through all the political unrest, etc). Little blurbs about what is going on in my life, but nothing too thoughtful. I have really yet to see the use for google+, as I forget to check it, and don't really know what service it provides that I can't get elsewhere. Ho hum. Doo dedoo.


Anyway, since I have no problems coming up with things to say on Twitter, I went there to see if I could find something to blog about. Last Sunday, I posted this tweet:

Thinking about what it really means to "love our neighbor." Considering Galatians 5:13-15, 6:1-10 (esp 2), Romans 13:8-9, &; Luke 10:25-37.

Sounds like the perfect thing to blog about, thought I don't have too many solutions to offer. Just thoughts and some Scriptures.

I have been failing at taking pictures lately, though have enjoyed the occasional impromptu stovetop photo shoot to try to illustrate something. These two are neighbors. And saltshakers. If you think the girl is salt, you would be mistaken.

There's probably little disagreement among Christians that we need to love our neighbor as ourselves, it is in the "how" we love our neighbor, and the "who" is our neighbor question that we can't seem to figure out/agree on. 


Jesus, when He was asked the question, "And who is my neighbor?," launches into the familiar story of the good Samaritan. Now, there is a lot that could be said about this particular story, of the history of why the Samaritans weren't liked by the Jewish people, or why the priest and temple assistant didn't even want their shadow to touch the man who was beaten and robbed, but let's look at the answer of who the neighbor is.  The neighbor is the one who showed mercy on the person who needed it. Jesus says that this is what we are to do in order to be a good neighbor. So, who needs mercy? Probs everyone at some point, right?  Even ourselves!


Ok. I have lots of thoughts that I've typed and then deleted. They are merely speculative, and not sure if they are helpful.  I guess a lot of what I have been thinking about lately has to do with two things (that could have to do with each other, but not necessarily).
1. How do we care for the poor, both among us, and in the world. If we just give them the resources we think they need, are we really helping? What can we do on a relational level with people before we just give them yesterday's t-shirts? If we go downtown and start up 10 businesses, will it really help, or will it just force the poor to live somewhere else? If we know the people, and what businesses they would shop/work at, it would be better. But that takes a lot of time, and we are not creatures that are known for their patience. If we are doing relational ministry, there are a lot less statistics that we can give to people who want to give us money to help.  What do we base our "success" on?
2. How do we care for and show love to people who are difficult to love/care for? It is easier to love our neighbor who is just like we are, for better or for worse. How can we show love for those who drive us crazy, or who have a different worldview, or whose sins are seemingly different from our own? Is it ok if one person's style of loving his/her neighbor is different from our own?


Lots to consider. There is a lot, a la-hot, of Scripture that is all about loving our neighbor. The last 6 of the Ten Commandments are all about loving our neighbor. Both old and new testament talk about loving our neighbor. There must be something we can glean from this and apply to today. Here is the tip of the iceberg:


In Deuteronomy, the people are told to leave some of their hard work behind during the harvest time, so that the poor can come and take what they need afterward.


In Leviticus, the idea of leaving part of your harvest behind and following the neighborly part of the Ten Commandments is discussed (This is not meant to discredit the first four commandments. Loving God and loving your neighbor tend to go hand in hand).


Galatians 5:13-26 points to the entire law being summed up in, "love your neighbor as yourself" and gives examples of how to live in the Spirit.


Galatians 6:1-10 also talks about harvesting, but harvesting good. I especially like verses 2-3, "Share each other's burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important." How can we practically share each other's burdens? This could start in the home/family, and reach out to the community, and to the world. Sharing burdens implies that both parties take on each other's burdens. It isn't just one important person with seemingly no burdens helping out the poor person they don't know. No one has the upper hand when burdens are being shared. There are probably implications that joys are being shared as well in this scenario.


Romans 13:8-9. Sorry Mr. Ramsey, but I don't think these verses are so much about being a good steward with your money as they are about loving your neighbor.


Hebrews 13:15-16 says that sharing with those in need and doing good are ways that we can give a pleasing and continual sacrifice of praise to God.


Ok. Lots to think about. What do you think it means to love your neighbor? How does that look? What verses help you to think of this?

Reminded again this morning why I love Isaiah 55

Isaiah 55 

Invitation to the Lord’s Salvation 

1 “Is anyone thirsty?
Come and drink—
even if you have no money!
Come, take your choice of wine or milk—
it’s all free!

2 Why spend your money on food that does not give you strength?
Why pay for food that does you no good?
Listen to me, and you will eat what is good.
You will enjoy the finest food.

3 “Come to me with your ears wide open.
Listen, and you will find life.
I will make an everlasting covenant with you.
I will give you all the unfailing love I promised to David.

4 See how I used him to display my power among the peoples.
I made him a leader among the nations.

5 You also will command nations you do not know,
and peoples unknown to you will come running to obey,
because I, the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, have made you glorious.”

6 Seek the Lord while you can find him.
Call on him now while he is near.

7 Let the wicked change their ways
and banish the very thought of doing wrong.
Let them turn to the Lord that he may have mercy on them.
Yes, turn to our God, for he will forgive generously.

8 “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord.
“And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.

9 For just as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so my ways are higher than your ways
and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.

10 “The rain and snow come down from the heavens
and stay on the ground to water the earth.
They cause the grain to grow,
producing seed for the farmer
and bread for the hungry.

11 It is the same with my word.
I send it out, and it always produces fruit.
It will accomplish all I want it to,
and it will prosper everywhere I send it.

12 You will live in joy and peace.
The mountains and hills will burst into song,
and the trees of the field will clap their hands!

13 Where once there were thorns, cypress trees will grow.
Where nettles grew, myrtles will sprout up.
These events will bring great honor to the Lord’s name;
they will be an everlasting sign of his power and love.”

2 Timothy 4:1-5

I don't really have anything profound to say. Though I have been wondering which ministry, if any, God will give me. Feeling sort of tired, but not in a sleepy sort of way. Should be doing homework, and I want to be, but I felt like I needed some Scripture before I began. Biblegatewayed the words "hear" and "listen" and was eventually taken to this passage from 2 Timothy. Is it proper to say "second" Timothy, or "two" Timothy? I've heard both. I usually say "second," but don't see a reason not to say "two," if that's what floats your boat.  Anyway, here is the word for the day:

I solemnly urge you in the presence of God and Christ Jesus, who will someday judge the living and the dead when he appears to set up his Kingdom: 

Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching.
For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. 

They will reject the truth and chase after myths.
But you should keep a clear mind in every situation. Don’t be afraid of suffering for the Lord. Work at telling others the Good News, and fully carry out the ministry God has given you.