Category: Advent

Advent 15: Baggage Claim

I am not a seasoned traveler. No matter how many times I go to visit my mom, I feel like a newbie all over again. I still get nervous when the plane takes off and lands.

One thing I have learned is to pack less. It’s much easier to travel with a lighter bag and just enough to entertain myself on the flight.

On my recent trip to visit my mom, I watched people tugging and lugging huge backpacks and bulging roll-on bags. They were juggling coats and coffee, books and briefcases. They wrestled them into the overheads and scrunched them to fit under the seat in front of them. So much energy was expended…wasted. So much frustration. A few broken nails. And lots of colorful language–cover the children’s ears.

It reminded me of something I read in Max Lucado’s book, Traveling Light. He tells the story of a time when he was away at a speaking engagement and he didn’t realize until he arrived at his hotel room that he had claimed the wrong bag. He goes on to talk about how no sane person would keep the wrong bag–what would he do with women’s clothing? His point: often we carriage baggage that is not our own.

Unwanted baggage can infiltrate our Advent and Christmas experience, too. Ebenezer wasn’t the only one who has nightmares from ghosts of Christmases past.

What would happen if we carried less into the holidays? Perhaps if we projected less from the past into the present and traveled lighter? We might find more energy to enjoy the present.

As I was thinking about this I was reminded of the image of Mary and Joseph traveling to Bethlehem. On that arduous journey they only carried the essentials. It was probably good since they ended up having to flee to Egypt.

In the midst of his ministry to the masses, Jesus looked out on the crowd and had compassion on them. I picture him lifting his arms in invitation as he said: 28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light (Matthew 11:28-30, NIV).”

Light burdens. That’s the gift he brings. Sounds like the best way to travel to me.

Advent 14: Christmas Cookies

I love Christmas cookies. I love cookie exchanges.

My mom never made Christmas cookies–any cookies, actually. It wasn’t until I was in Girl Scouts that I ever iced sugar cookies.

Did I mention I love cookies? I don’t think I ever met a problem a Doule Stuff Oreo (or whole bag) couldn’t solve. I have eaten way more than my fair share in my fifty-six years.

Last Christmas a friend invited me over to decorate cookies. It sounded like fun so I showed up. She had several bowls of homemade icing and trays and trays of cut-out cookies in all the traditional Christmas shapes.

I sat down at the table and very carefully and gingerly began to ice and decorate with sprinkles.

She laughed at me. Then she asked me what I was doing.

I looked at her rather shocked at first. I mean, what did it look like I was doing. Then it dawned on me that she had finished decorating a half dozen cookies to my one. I was so afraid to “mess up” that I was not enjoying the experience at all. My perfectionism was totally tying me up and shutting me down.

My friend then very quickly went to work assuring me that there was no wrong way to do this. She’s a very wise woman. I decided to believe her. The result was that we had a fun time. In the end there were plenty of iced cookies and neither of us were fretting about the icing or sprinkles on the table…I don’t think we were fretting at all.

And a truth seed was planted in my heart that brought a breath of freedom into my life.

Too often my perfectionistic roots strangle my creativity, my living, and living life to its fullest (See John 10:10). I have noticed that I’m not alone in this as I have listened to friends discuss their struggle with finding and doing God’s will…his perfect will.

Choices that I made in my life really messed things up for me. I was afraid life was over. Somehow I thought that life progressed in a straight line moving up. But it looked more like a jumbled mess.

What if the truth is that God loves us enough to let us make mistakes? What if there isn’t one plan/path and if we don’t find it and only walk down that one and instead meander a little? What if there isn’t one perfect job, but a series of jobs where we have the opportunity to touch many lives and make a difference in many places? What if there isn’t one perfect mate, but more than one…or none?

There are those who would consider such thinking blasphemous. I wonder what they do when the cords get jumbled up?

There is a verse that is often quoted from Jeremiah: For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11)

There is certainly comfort in that verse…but it’s also pretty vague. And when you put it in context it’s even more interesting. Go ahead read the whole chapter.

Life is not always neat and tidy. Sometimes it’s jumbled up. Sometimes it’s even messier than a table after preschoolers attempt to decorate Christmas cookies. But God is still there. He’s still planning for hope and a future. He can make something beautiful if you’ll ease up and let him.

He is after all, the one who promised to give us life…life to the fullest.

Advent 13: Trees

Have you ever wondered why we have Christmas trees?

The historians tell us that the evergreen is a symbol life in the midst of winter. THe church has not always supported the practice–in fact they were deemed to be pagan for a long time.

Recently I saw some articles online that suggested only people with children should have decorated trees.

Really? I love my tree.

One year when I was a chaplain I left my tree up all year long. I was trying to make a point about keeping the Christmas spirit all year long.

Putting up our tree is like unpacking memories and holding them up for review. We bought this ornament here. This one was made for that child’s first Christmas. These were handcrafted through the years by children and grandchildren. Treasure in tissue paper. And don’t get me started on the bubble lights.

Would life be different if we were to keep the spirit of Christmas alive all year long?

What might that even look like?

Instead of only being concerned about families in need we might reach out to them, walk with them everyday.

Why do we wait?

Shouldn’t caring, generosity, and giving be the hallmarks of our lives as believers? Isn’t that what the church in Acts did as they held all things in common? No one went without because everyone shared.

Talk about hope in the dead of winter. Kinda lends a new meaning to the old story of The Giving Tree.

Advent 12: Countdown

Well, we’re halfway there. Advent is half over and Christmas is just a couple weeks away.

Are you feeling the pressure yet? Has your holiday spirit suffered from the hustle, bustle, and too much to eat?

How’s your anticipation quotient? Are you slipping from excited expectation into dread and loathing?

We are just a handful of days away from turning the calendar page into a whole new year.

Where has the time gone?

As I pondered this, I was reminded of Paul’s words to the Colossians: Make the most of every opportunity. (4:5b, NIV)

It’s really hard to do that if we’re not living intentionally. If we have allowed ourselves to get swept up in the current of the culture and buy into the prevailing mentality of fast is best and the one with the most on their calendar wins.

Christms comes every year, right about this time. And typically when it’s all over I will finally take a deep breath and thank God for getting me through another one.

I hate feeling that way. I don’t think it really pleases God either.

So I have taken Paul’s words as my mantra for this season. Every opportunity, every moment, is a gift that God has given me and I’m going to make the most of it.

A very funny and dear man has described this as holy appointments and divine interuptions–or something like that. Essentially every moment is a God-ordained opportunity to be salt and light, to touch the lives of others with the love and grace of God. God has something for us and for us to do and be.

Don’t run out of time. You’ll never run out of opportunities.

Advent 11: Lights

You are the light of the world. Matthew 5:14

I usually like to sit in an aisle seat when I’m flying. Then I can lean out into the aisle for a little more room. The flight was booked (overbooked, actually) and thankfully I was able to reserve a window seat.

The best part of the window seat for me is looking down and wondering about the people in the towns I’m flying over. It was especially fun this flight because I was flying at night and the lights were kind of like reverse stars twinkling below instead of above.

So many lights…so many people.

That doesn’t make everybody happy. I visited the telescope center on Mt. Hopkins atop the Santa Rita Mountains. The guide was telling us that the reason the telescope was put there was the desert was so dark and that made the viewing of the stars and beyond that much better. They would run their vehicles up and down the mountain with the headlights off to keep from disrupting the viewing process. One light could make that much difference.

So of course I wondered: how much difference does my light make?

Light plays an important role in the developing Christmas story.

Think about it: the Wisemen followed the light to get to the Light who came to bring light to those who would be his light in the world.

We light candles at Christmas. We put lights on our trees–inside and out. Some light displays are very extravagant, even being set to music. There are 1,850,000 hits on youtube alone for Christmas lights. They even put lights on the cacti in the desert.

What is this obsession?

It made me think about my fear of the dark. If I’m home alone I have to leave a light on. There are things in the dark that can hurt us. (My shins will atest to that!)

We do a lot to make sure that our physical worlds are void of darkness.

You are the light of the world–not physically but spiritually. Make sure this holy holiday season that you are plugged into the Source and that your light is shining bright.

We wouldn’t want anyone to have to be walking in darkness. Right?

Advent 10: Humble

5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.
6 Though he was God,[a]
he did not think of equality with God
as something to cling to.
7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges[b];
he took the humble position of a slave[c]
and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form,[d]
8 he humbled himself in obedience to God
and died a criminal’s death on a cross.
(Philippians 2:5-8, NLT)

Humble.

There is so much fanfare, hype, glitz, and spending at Christmas. It sort of takes over. And we overlook the simplicity that characterized the first Christmas.

A young couple. A husband who could have demanded his own rights, yet humbly cared for his wife and believed that God had a plan. A young woman who was probably scared to death, determined to be God’s servant…a pretty humbling choice to make.

A stable. A manger. And the first recorded visitors: shepherds. The King was not invited. He wasn’t even informed. The wise men who sought him came later. Came to the palace, but found the Messiah in a humble home.

Humble.

Paul paints a really clear picture of what Jesus gave up to come to us. Live with us, showing us God’s love and grace, and then giving his life.

I’m humbled by that.

He did that for me. He did that for you.

I did a word study once and the word humble has a root that we would recognize as humus…you know like dirt. Remind you of anything? Adam was made from the dirt. He had a humble beginning. And Jesus chose to be humble.

How will you be humble this Christmas season?

Advent 9: Good Gifts

Todays’s thought comes from James 1:17: Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

For some reason this morning I started singing the old hymn, Give of Your Best to the Master.

It is the season for giving gifts.

Buying gifts when the girls were young and we were foster parents was not something I enjoyed. Do I sound like Scrooge?

It wasn’t that I didn’t want to give gifts. I just hated the way the kids counted their presents and made sure there was equity for all.

I dreaded hearing their pronouncement of: It’s not fair s/he got more than me.

Sigh. Like it was some kind of competition.

I don’t think I ever liked the gift giving part of Christmas. For so many years I was disappointed after not receiving the gifts I truly had my heart set on. I quit asking for things.

What would happen if we boycotted the whole gift giving insanity?

The best “gifts” my children ever gave me were the coupon booklets that they proudly (or forced) made in school. There were coupons for cleaning their room, or doing the dishes without being asked. They were the kinds of things that cost no money but demonstrated love and care.

They were gifts of time.

The best gifts are like that. They are gifts of time, of touch…of you.

Who could you give the gift of you to this Christmas?

You know who gave you the best gift, don’t you? He gave himself. Pretty good example to follow.

Advent 8: Reindeer Games

This morning I was singing along with the radio when the Rudolph song came on. And I got stuck on how the other reindeers wouldn’t let Rudolph play because he was different…weird.

I get Rudolph. I get how that must have hurt.

I am in Arizona visiting my mom. While we are together we play Scrabble practically non-stop. In the week that I have been here we have played over 50 games. We laugh and talk, philosophize, and try to solve the ills of mankind.

We often say that you can learn a lot about life from the game of Scrabble. You have to wait your turn. It helps to be flexible when someone takes the place you were about to play your hundred point word. There are times when you win and there are times you lose–but it’s all about playing the game.

I play Scrabble because I enjoy it. That’s why I play any of the games I play. It’s for fun. But it isn’t that way for everyone.

You know the kind of folks I’m talking about. Their face has probably popped into your mind’s eye. They are cut-throat. They can’t loose. They sandbag. They count cards. Winning is everything. It’s like a drug for them. And the worst thing is that they make you feel less than worthless when you lose.

Worse than Rudolph.

So what do games have to do with Advent…other than they make for a great Christmas gift?

It has a lot to do with how we treat people. In one of my favorite books, The Red Sea Rules, one of the lessons from the account of the Hebrews crossing the Red Sea is that it’s not always about us. God put them in that place, in that time, for his glory to be revealed. Jesus picks up on this when he raises Lazurus.

It’s not always about us.

One time I had the joy of playing Scrabble with my former choir director. She was in an assisted living situation and her memory was not what it once was. I could have easily ran the score up–but what purpose would it have served? What mattered was the time we could share together.

It is so easy to get focused on ourselves: where we need to be, what we need to do, and what is important and urgent for us. To say this affects how we “play the game” of life is quite an understatement.

Take stock of your attitude and relationality. A wise mentor gave me a good guide to go by for this: would you rather be right or related? Can you let someone else win the game?

Advent 7: Comfort

What brings you comfort?

Watching my mom fix brekfast this morning I realized her predictable ways are very comforting to me.

This revelation came as I watched her open a can of pineapple. She opened the can over the sink–just in case there was spiilage. Then she set it on the counter, on a washcloth she had laid there to catch any drips.

That’s how she is: always thinking ahead…anticipating need.

As I sat there watching, I actually thought about how much that’s like God. Remember he’s the great shepherd who provide for our very need. He is always one step ahead of us, anticipating not only what we need, but also the messes we might make.

Then I began to think about the implications of that for Advent and the whole no room in the inn thing. It was no mistake the Mary and Joseph delivered God’s son in a stable, because if God had wanted he could have made room in the inn.

God anticipated their need and provided. Jesus wasn’t born along the road in the middle of the night. No, he was born in a stable out of the elements and with a cradle of sorts.

Sometimes God’s ways confuse me. Both then and now. But they also bring bring me comfort. God anticipates my every need and though he takes m edown paths I don’t understand I know he does indeed lead me where I need to be.

And I don’t know about your life but he has always been faithful to stay right by me as we put the pieces back together. He wastes nothing…even using the messes I have made.

So as you sing carols about the comfort of God, remember that comfort may not come as you expect or want it, but it will come. You willhave exactly what you need.

Advent 6: Now That We’re Listening

Have you ever wondered why God doesn’t break through the clouds with an angel chorus to get our attention with what he needs to say?

How cool is it that Zechariah, Joseph, Mary, and the Shepherds all got a direct and very specific message from God?!

But why not me God?

I mean, how much heartache, seemingly wasted time, problems, pain, and suffering could be avoided if instead “guessing” what it might be that God wants us to do, we had explicit direction.

I think it might be linked to that angel thing. Stay with me on this.

Every time an angel brought a message, the first thing they had to do was tell the recipient to not be afraid. Angels must not be those cutesy things we hang on our walls or put on our cards at Christmas. They must be scarey. It cold be their appearance–if you read about them in Isaiah, this makes sense. But it could also be that when angels brought a message from God, the people knew that something was going to be required of them. Life was going to change. And we all know how much we like that!

So we’ve made a pact to listen more this Advent season. Listen, believing that God has something to say. But how might he do it?

Hebrews 13:2 may give us some help with this. The writer admonishes us to offer hospitality to strangers because we never know when we might be welcoming an angel without knowing it.

Now those “strangers” may not knock on our door. They may be ringing the Salvation Army bell. They might be standing in the line in front of us at Walmart or the grocery. Perhaps they will sit next to us at church or the table near us at Denny’s. If we have our “God ears” (a concept developed by my friend Ginger Harrington–look up her stuff it’s really good!) we might just hear a word from God.

No fanfare or sparkly choir needed. Just open hears and an open heart. God has something to say–don’t miss it because it comes dressed as a stranger.