a poem... a prayer...

I came across this poem in my travels around the internet this morning... speaks a profound word into our advent.

advent discontent

May our anger at the injustice of the world
not be mollified
by the anticipation of unwrapping
espresso makers and Pandora charms

may our despair at politics of fear and hatred
not be drowned out
by Christmas carols that tell only
of happiness and joy

and may our belief in Christmas miracles
not leave us deaf
to calls for every day
compassion and kindness

May we hold tight to the discontent of the prophets
this Christmas.
May we not find peace
until justice and love have come.

 -cheryl lawrie (at holdthisspace.org.au)

From Fear to Boldness

        For many of us, the idea of talking about our faith is uncomfortable. There may be many reasons for that discomfort, but I believe that the underlying reason is fear. What if we say the wrong thing? What if they ask us a bunch of questions we can’t answer? Sometimes it feels better and safer to say nothing.

        Jesus didn't say, “Just sit there and say nothing.” He said “Go and make disciples of all the nations.”So how do we get from fear to boldness? I believe the answer is “prayer and practice.”

        One organization that provides that opportunity is Celebrate Jesus. Celebrate Jesus is a mission organization that does one week missions in local churches throughout Florida. As a member of a visiting mission team, volunteers have the opportunity to step outside of their comfort zones. Working in groups, they invite church neighbors to a free block party at the church so that the church can begin building relationships with their un-churched neighbors. (“Come and See”- remember that?) They take prayer requests. They help the church do acts of kindness- taking cookies to the local fire department to thank them for their service, providing cold water for the workers building a new road, doing vacant lot clean-ups. All of the acts are done in the name of Jesus and the conversations are invitational, not confrontational. Visiting mission team members discover that sharing God’s love is fun!

         On my first Celebrate Jesus mission ten years ago, our group went to the beach to give out cold water and invite people to the block party. I noticed a woman turned away – with her back to the ocean. We offered  her water and began a conversation. She told us about her sadness, her loneliness, and then said “I think angels sent you here.” When asked if she wanted us to pray with her, she said “yes.”  God used me that day, and I discovered that God’s power and God’s love are a whole lot bigger than my fear.

         Would you like to experience God in a new way? Celebrate Jesus is having missions Summer 2014 in Northeast Florida- Jacksonville (June 21-28, 2014) and Tampa (July 26- Aug 2, 2014).  Come and See! Celebrate Jesus.  www.cjmission.org

Grace, Amazing to Me

        In week 6 of Disciple’s Path, our topic is Witness: Invitational Evangelism. One of the reflections we are given is to write out the story of how we came to be a follower of Jesus.  We are to write what we were like before Christ, how we came to be a Christ follower, and what our life has been like since then.

         Some years ago, my choir director gave this as an exercise to each choir member. We were to write out our testimony, and then prepare to give it verbally to the other members of the choir in three minutes or less. It was not necessarily an easy task- it needed to be short and sweet. We were told that we did not need to emphasize the “before” since there was a blessed “after”- gory details were not required. It was a blessing to each of us to hear from our brothers and sisters in Christ how each of us came to be where we were then.

         The exercise of writing then verbalizing my testimony has been something that has been helpful to me. It was the beginning of me being able to talk about my faith in a way that is natural and not forced or weird.

Something I found useful in thinking about my testimony is from the song “Amazing Grace”- “I once was lost, but now I’m found, was blind but now I see.” I hope that is helpful for you, too, this week as you write the story of your own Amazing Grace.

Popeye's Discontent

This week as we talk about our spiritual gifts, one of the topics is Divine Discontent. Bill Hybels of the Willow Creek Church wrote a book entitled Holy Discontent where he discussed the idea that our Holy discontent may lead us to our spiritual passion and our ministry. He quoted Popeye, who often got to a point of frustration, then action, where he would say, ”That’s all I can stands. I can’t stands no more!”

Bll Hybels posted a video about Holy discontent on his website billhybels.org. http://tube.willowcreek.com/lgdownload.aspx?filePath=summit2010&contentType=video/mpeg&fileName=SummitSunday2010_Hybels.mov This was a talk he gave at the Willow Creek Leadership Summit. It took awhile to load on my computer, but it is truly inspiring.

Fit for a King

I practiced law for more than 20 years in a rural area of Florida. During that time, my law partner and I sometimes received legal fees and gifts from clients in a manner other than cash. One client brought me turnip greens. We received watermelons. My law partner became the owner of a Great Dane. One of my clients did a reverse fee- she took two of my cat’s kittens.

My most memorable gift was paid to me in chickens. These were not squawking, flapping chickens, or poultry purchased from Winn Dixie. My client called them “yard chickens”- we would now refer to them as “free range”. This woman caught her yard chickens, scalded, plucked, cleaned and dressed them. She prepared them to roast, with side items, stuffing and gravy.  This simple meal was fit for a king because it was a gift given from this woman’s heart.

As we read this week about stewardship and our giving to God, I remembered this gift to me, which included this woman’s time, talents, gifts and service. Are my gifts to God gifts from the heart, fit for the King of Kings and Lord of Lords?

We are asked why giving is a matter of the heart- what do you think?

The Blessing of Being Present

I was reminded today in our reading about the idea of being “present”. I regularly find myself distracted, thinking about ten things other than the one thing on which I would like to be focused.

I also recall times when I have been intentionally present and the blessing those times have been to me. When my daughter, Kate, was 13, she, my husband and I sang together in a community choir. That Christmas we sang Messiah in concert four times. At one of those concerts, I remember feeling overwhelmed with blessing- the blessing of being together as a family singing to the glory of God. I had no idea that during the next five months we would be dealing with my husband’s illness and eventual death from cancer. The picture of us, singing together as a family, remains in my heart.

                In Ruth Haley Barton’s book, Sacred Rhythms, she offers a prayer- “Oh God, give me more moments like this- moments when I am fully present to you and to others in love. Moments when I am connected with what is purest and most authentic within me and able to respond to your presence in that place. I want to live my life in such a way that there is more of this!”

                How have you been blessed by being fully present?

Who told you about Jesus?

     This week we were asked to remember the people who were instrumental in leading us to Christ. Two people in my life who were unabashed in their witness were my grandmother, Clara Mills, and her neighbor, Helen Parker- "Parkey" to me. I remember singing "Jesus Loves Me" with Grandmother and Parkey. Parkey was a Baptist and had this sweet smile when she would talk about Jesus. She wrote poems about him which she read to me. Her husband Dr. Parker, who I called Dockey Parkey, was a dentist. He had a dental chair in his garage. I assume that Parkey stayed prayed up for both of them.
     There was a copy of Warner Sallman's "Head of Christ" in my grandmother's living room and a painting of the child Jesus in her bedroom. Grandmother prayed for me. She also quizzed me about whether I had attended Sunday School. At Christmas, Grandmother placed a little plastic creche on her mantle. It was well loved. Some of the camels' heads were broken off but you could still see Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus in the manger. Grandmother had Christmas candles- an angel choir. I still have the candles. They remind me of Grandmother, her love for Jesus and her love for me.
      Who told you about Jesus?