Shadows

We are fortunate enough to have plenty of beautiful hardwoods in our yard.  For a few days each fall, we are blessed with a vibrant display of reds, yellows, oranges, even purples and pinks.  It also means that our yard is dotted with tall gray poles that have nary a leaf all winter.  Some well placed shadows joined hands with those trees to play a nice little trick on me the other day.

I was sitting on the loveseat, looking out the back door.  There was a birdhopping along the trunk of a tree, giving the occasionally peck as he traversed the length of the trunk, going up and down.  Interestingly, there was another bird on an adjacent mirroring his actions.  I've seen two males act this way before, fighting over territory or a female.  There was a larger tree behind the two these birds were occupying.  Suddenly, one bird flew to the larger tree and the other bird joined him.  The birds were face to face.  For several seconds they stayed in this posture then returned to their original trees.

After witnessing this "dance" a few more times, my amazement died.  I realized that the second bird and its tree were only the shadow of the first, being cast onto the trunk of the much larger tree.  

Shadows have a way of concealing reality from us.  Things which rather not be discovered hide in shadows.  Our vision can be hampered by shadows, hiding the real truth from us.  That's why it is so important to walk in the light of Christ when on a faith journey.  Darkness will try to hide his face.  Darkness will strive to lead us astray.  The shadows can even begin to look appealing if we let them.  To quote DC Talk, I'm gonna choose to walk in the light.

What's up with your blog?

To the 4 people who read my blog with semi-semi-semi-regularity, you have probably noticed that my posts lately have been coming with even less regularity.  Lots of factors are involved, lack of time being the main.  The activities that have been taking up most of my time have also given me reason to consider the purpose of this blog.  Or at least its original purpose.  I don't know what will happen to Just a Thought, but my gut tells me it will morph more into an online journal of my own faith journey.  That's of course assuming I can carve out time to actually post.

Just in case you're curious, here's one of the things that has been occupying my time - the Kenan Fellowship.  I've made it to the interview round of the process.  My interview is Tuesday afternoon. We'll see how it turns out.

Acting on Instinct

Season 8 of American Idol is in full swing.  The finalists will be picked this week and next week we, the viewers, begin our part of the process of voting on the next American Idol.  One contestant is completely blind.  A clip of him playing the keyboard while he was singing was shown tonight.  I found it interesting that as he was playing, he instinctively "looked" down at his hands and the keys at various times throughout his performance.

I don't know his story.  I don't know if he was born blind or lost his sight later in life.  Whatever the case, something within him cause him to act in a manner that was consistent with the function and purpose of eyes.

There are aspects of our lives that seem to happen by instinct.  Mothers have it, 'cept they call it "intuition."  Some of us have personalities that drive us to make decisions by what our guts tell us.  When frightened or placed in otherwise stressful situations, the "fight or flight" instinct kicks in.

As people on a faith journey following Christ, we sometimes find ourselves in a battle of warring instincts.  There is the sinful nature that taints our soul that tries to lead us into actions that seek to only satisfy self and ignore the needs of others or the will of God.  Then there is the Holy Spirit that dwells within us, leading us to imitate the self-sacrificing attitude of Christ, changing us to take on his character.

Which instinct is strongest in you?  Which purpose and function are you fulfilling?

I've been there

I have a student who has been issued a laptop by the school because of some disabilities that affect his handwriting.  On Thursday, he and another student were trying to put the finishing touches on a project when he experienced what all of us who depend on computers have experienced at least once.  His computer stopped working properly.  He had no way to access any of his prior work.  He and his partner were obviously distraught and called me over to see if I could fix it.

After he described what was happening, I immediately knew his problem - a bad video inverter.  I only knew this because I had experienced the same thing.  I wasn't able to fix his problem, but I could at least diagnose it and then empathize with him because nothing is more frustrating than to be dependent on a computer and not be able to get your stuff.

How many times in life has someone come along and provided comfort because they had experienced the same thing as you?  How about the other way around?  That's the beauty of community and relationships.  We usually only focus on sharing the bad things in life, but sharing the good things makes the good things even better.

There is one who can empathize with EVERYTHING we have ever experienced.  We can take all our problems and all our joys.  We can even take him our sin that we are powerless to do anything about and he will be there for us.  He'll even take that away if we ask him.  That's why I'm on a faith journey with Jesus.  He'll be there.

Dual Citizenship & Dissociative Identity

As our country undergoes a major transition politically and economically, I find myself spending a lot of mental energy processing my views historically while at the same time trying to predict the trajectory they are currently following.  What are my beliefs as follower of Christ living in 21st Century America?

Obama's election to our nation's highest office has been an interesting event for American Evangelicals.  Putting it simplistically, Evangelicals normally swing Republican because of "moral issues."  However, many younger Evangelicals have proudly supported Obama because it was a vote to reclaim the forgotten social action heritage of many Evangelicals.  If we are all honest, we would state that NO political party has the market cornered on what it is right.  If you are an optimist, then you pick the candidate or party that has the most right things from your perspective.  If you see the glass half empty, then you pick the lesser of two evils.

Without going into too much political and economic analysis, neither of which I am qualified offer, I struggle with how our nation's leaders are addressing the current economic crisis.  I do not agree with all the government bailouts or huge stimulus bills that really won't do anything for the economy.  They will all inevitably lead us into more dire times.  Where's the money the government's throwing around going to come from?  It's going to come from us, the taxpayers.

Another part of my struggle relates to how do I really feel about capitalism.  At the risk of sounding harsh and uncaring, if a company begins to fail because of poor management, inferior products, or anything else, then let it go.  I think in the long run, everything will right itself and all parties will be better off.  The real issue I'm struuggling with is the concept of creating wealth.  

Can wealth really be created?  For what purpose?  Is it right for a follower of Jesus to make money for the sake of making money and keeping it to themselves?  I think everyone will say"No" to that one, yet isn't that we're advocating?

All these thoughts are in their infancy.  And for them all, I find myself in my idealism faced with an impossible decision.  I cannot align myself even half way with the political and economic choices in front of me.  I guess that why we have Anabaptist groups, Amish, and Mennonites.  How does one live as a citizen of the Kingdom of God and one of the earthly kingdoms too?  Even more specifically, CAN one live as a citizen of both or is a split personality the only possibility?

The Fruits of Wrath

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. Romans 5:8-11

We sang a song last week that thanked God for "crushing" his son Jesus in order to reconcile us to him. At first that sounds violent and unloving. What we don't see when we look at this in isolation is that it was the love of Jesus that motivates his action. God the Father agrees with the plan. Because of Jesus' act of self-sacrifice, God rewards him with the resurrection and name above all names.

For me though, the power is in the wrath.  I'm not one to talk about God's wrath much; I prefer to speak more about his love that works to help us escape the wrath.  BUT, I can't help but be struck by the thought that Jesus was crushed to enable us to be reconciled and live in peace with God, live with God's peace in us, live in peace and not worry about our eternal destiny.  And because of that it makes me want to live for him more, makes me want to be more like him, makes me want to tell more people about him. . .  Funny how the right combination of wrath and love can do that.

A Momentous Day

Policy issues and opinions aside, today is a historic day for our country. Our first African-American president has taken office. While watching the inauguration ceremonies , I could not help but feel some of the history. I also could not help but think of all the movies and television shows I've seen that have had fictional African-American presidents. Truth has caught up with fiction.

We'll see how the Obama presidency goes. For now I will celebrate what I hope will be a positive moment for our country.

Snow Update

Well, the weather forecasters can breathe a collective sigh of relief. After saying somewhat sheepishly last night it may not snow quite as much as initially predicted, you can see how our yard looked this morning. It's still coming down and we may in fact get close to six inches.

It's of course messed up our school calendar. We'll probably end up going to school during Easter week. It sure is pretty though.

No School on Tuesday!

At 6:15 pm, I received a phone call saying that school had been canceled for all students, faculty, and staff tomorrow. They apparently were taking to heart the predictions that were almost guaranteeing at the time anywhere from 3 to 6 inches. At 11:30, all the weather folks were backtracking, scaling things back to 2 to 4 inches, with 1 inch being the most likely. It will probably turn into one of those "We should have delayed school two hours" events. I hold my criticisms and just quote my principal who likes to say, "It is what it is."

Happy Sledding (I hope)!

Poor Timing

• There is approximately 1 cup of milk left in the refrigerator. Forecasters are calling for some possible wintry mix this evening and 2-4" of accumulation tomorrow. I know there will be a run on bread and milk today. Everyone will think I'm part of the panic, but I REALLY do need milk

• Deer season ended January 1. Almost immediately on the day after, all the deer that had been hiding in the woods have returned to the fields in the evening to eat. While walking through the woods, the boys and I even jumped the deer we had been hunting and tracking all season 10 days AFTER the season ended. The doves have even returned to the skies now that dove season has ended. How do they know?!
  

The Myth of Sharing

Yesterday I concluded a three week class I've been teaching some of fourth and fifth grade Cub Scouts in my sons' pack. It was the God & Family class, part of the God and Country curriculum. In a couple of weeks I'll be teaching God & Me to some of the second and third graders. One of the things we talked about today in our final session was the sharing of our faith. After talking about the story of Shadrach, Meschach and Abednego, the boys were asked this question, "How do you talk about your faith with your friends?" I was floored by their response. Their overwhelming response was, "We're not allowed to talk about God in school."

When I tried to assure them that they could indeed talk about God in school, they emphatically explained to me how wrong I was. I used examples like they cannot stop you from telling a friend how much fun you had at church the day before. They were adamant in their belief that no mention of God whatsoever was allowed in schools.

I went on to explain that what is not allowed is the school itself telling them that one god or religion is preferable to another but they could talk personally to one another as much as they please, as long as they did not disrupt the educational environment. I had eight boys stare back at me, unwavering in their belief I was wrong.

I'm still trying to process that event. What led them to such a belief? Have we talked so much about how God has been kicked out of the public schools that our children have now constructed their own interpretations of what that means, regardless of how wrong it might be? Have we as parents and Christian teachers created a mentality that has discouraged the sharing of our faith for whatever reason? Have we become so afraid of the consequences (both legal and social) as adults that it has become passed down to our children without any conscious effort on our part?

I fear that what is happening in the minds of these young boys and people everywhere is the further confirmation that Christian faith is irrelevant to real life. It is becoming more and more privatized, severing all links from our day to day living. This is not an accurate protrayal of Christianity.

What I hope happens is that Christianity will begin to appear even more dangerous, so dangerous that our children will be afraid to mention it in school. I hope it becomes so dangerous that people begin to see its value again. I hope they begin to be drawn back to it because it must mean something. I hope people's lives are changed as a result. And I hope those eight young Cub Scouts will develop the faith and courage of three young Hebrew men who faced the fiery furnace.

The Cost of Things (from a different angle)

Friday night I watched part of Oliver!. The musical opens with the Governor and Board of Directors of the Workhouse orphanage getting ready for their meal. They pass through the boys dining room and take a look at the gruel about to be served. Each man makes a face. They then retreat to their private dining room and feast. Once the orphans come out to eat, the contrast between the men and the boys is magnified. Each one of the boys is a skinny waif with hardly any meat on his bones. The Directors are all heavy set men. The men are not proportionately large - they are the proud owners of VERY large potbellies.

Among the many thoughts that ran through my mind was a tinge of guilt. As our economy continues to tank and more and more people find themselves unemployed (including folks in our neighborhood, spouses of my coworkers, and the people you know as well), the practice of indulging one's own greed and appetite while remaining indifferent to the plights of those suffering right under your nose eats at my soul. I won't even get started on how such practices characterize our society at large and may even be a small part of today's problems. Let's not forget how the Old Testament prophets continually spoke out against such a reality in Israel and Judah.

Are having things a sin? No. Is it wrong to have more than someone else? By no means. Is it wrong to ignore the plight of those in need when you have the capacity to help? Yes. That's part of the cost of things. It can also change the world.

The Cost of Things

I'm writing this post from my "new" laptop. When I say "new", I really mean "new" to me. It's actually about 7 years old, certainly not a top of the line machine. I've been carrying it around for four years, hoping to get it fixed. Four years ago the screen kept going in and out. I was told by people who fixed these things that it would take about $200 to fix it - parts and labor. The culprit was a part called the video inverter.

I don't know why I've kept this machine, but I did. Over the holidays I decided to go out on a lark and do some research. I found a site that showed me how to take the screen off and replace the inverter. I found the part on eBay for only $18 + $12 shipping from Hong Kong. The part came yesterday. I fixed it myself for only $30. Much better than $200. Today I went out and bought a wireless card so I could surf from my couch and not be tethered to the router.

It's always nice to fix things yourself. Most of the time you save money. It may take you longer, but there is also a sense of accomplishment by doing it yourself. Of course, that may be a guy thing, I don't know. Any women readers out there can let me know.

Of course, not everything can be fixed by yourself, usually because you do not have the tools or the expertise. The sin that marks our lives from the day we are born is just such a thing. No matter how hard I try, I can never fix the broken relationship that exists between God and me. I cannot earn my way into heaven. I cannot pay for the sin that causes the rift to exist.

That's why I have to depend on God's grace. It is his grace that sent his son Jesus to us. It is his grace that gave his son's life for us when we were undeserving of it. It is only through his sacrificial death of a perfect sinless life that atonement can be made. That is the high cost of salvation. That's a deal that will never be found on eBay

Post Christmas Update

Not that anyone cares, but here's my very belated post-Christmas update where I enthusiastically share about the cool things I got for Christmas. This Christmas can be summed up the words "Potato Head". I sort of unofficially began collecting the novelty Mr. Potato Heads out there when I received the Darth Tater and Optimash Prime versions the last two Christmases. This Christmas I received FOUR! different spuds - an Indiana Jones Potato Head, a generic Halloween with several costumes, and my two favorite versions - Artoo Potatoo and the Spudtrooper. I'll only you one guess as to what the last two are supposed to be. I've been too lazy to take a quick pic and post it here. I'll try to do so within the next week.

I'm really excited about these gifts. The problem is I need someplace to display them. I'd like to put them on display in my classroom so my kids can see just how unbalanced their math teacher really is. I also know the risk of having Darth Tater's light saber disappear by doing so. Right now, I don't have anywhere to show them, at home or school. It's something I've got to work on.

This wasn't my intended reason for posting the above, but as I was typing it occurred to me that Mr. Potato Head has a lot in common with spiritual gifts. Yes, you heard it here first. Every follower of Christ on a faith journey has one or more spiritual gifts. But, they don't always display them, use them, put them in a place where others can see (and be ministered to by) them. I definitely think my faith journey and its gifts are far more important than my SpudTrooper and his laser potato masher. If I'm going to put him on display, shouldn't I do the same with the greatest gift of all, salvation from God through Jesus Christ? Shouldn't I then put on display all the other gifts he then gives me? Just a thought.

BTW, the other word that could have described my Christmas was camouflage. I did take a picture of my new hunting attire, but you couldn't see it. So I didn't bother posting the picture.

Maybe there are no such things as "Bad Guys"

I'm adding to my other rants about how being bad has come to be acceptable (here and here). I actually get to go on a date with my wife tomorrow night (thanks Mom!), so I began searching the movie listings. One of the current movies out right now is Twilight. It's about a romance between two high school teens - one a normal, pretty girl and the other a very good looking ninety year old vampire. It is based on a series of books that starts with a novel by the same title. I know nothing about the books or the movie beyond what I've already stated. Nothing except this - all the girls in my classes LOVE this story. Several of my students have read every book in the series (three or four?) twice already this school year.

Vampires as a whole are finding a resurgence in popular literature, even without Anne Rice. I've seen what are probably some more traditional fare about vampires in the hands of my male students. But this post is about taking something that is bad and pretending it is good.

I suppose we can begin to place the blame on Anne Rice and her novels The Vampire Chronicles, particularly how she made Lestat a sympathetic character in spite of his evil tendencies that were no fault of his own. When Rice became a Christian, she went into seclusion to figure it all out. She stopped writing the Vampire novels and instead published a fictional account on the life of Jesus as a child. Don't quote me on this, but I seem to recall having heard that Rice has returned to the Vampire stories, this time with a Christian flair and vampire in them.

Permit me to sound ludicrous here, but we also see this move of making vampires "good people" in the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Buffy of course began her career slaying these demon killers of the night. As the storyline progressed, one of the characters that assisted Buffy in her daily business of fighting off and killing whatever evil creature threatened the world was in fact a vampire. There was another tv series on last fall whose main character was a "good" vampire in a committed normal relationship.

Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe vampires aren't really bad people. Maybe they have been given a bad rap by all the fantastic and imaginative gore written about them over the last several hundred years. Maybe contemporary fiction (and by extension contemporary ideology) has taken a necessary corrective action is showing us who vampires really are.

For argument's sake, let's say that vampires are inherently evil creatures. Why are we cleaning them up? Why are we making them acceptable? Why are we mooning over romances and relationships that conquer all the odds when it includes one? I would hope that the reason is because these creatures of evil have been redeemed. I hope it's because in each case we see a change in character and action that turns abruptly from the evil ways of a vampire and turns toward that which is more human, perhaps even more Godly.

Just to play fair, let's say that vampires are not inherently evil any more than your average regular human is inherently evil. Vampires are affected by the fall in the garden of Eden in the same way that humans were. We are told in Scripture that all creation was affected and that creation itself groans in anticipation of its eventual completed salvation when Jesus returns. Does that justify the willful murder and consumption of human blood? Can a vampire really invoke the "I can't help it, it's not my fault" clause? At least the vampire family in Twilight strives to live a human blood free life.

As silly as all this sounds, I think this whole thing comes down to the question of what does it mean to be Godly. In some family devotional material we have been using with the boys, the first week focuses on the issue of Godliness. It defines Godliness as wanting to please God in everything you think, say, and do. That's a pretty good definition. It gets us away from legalism, though it could lead to liberalism if argued "correctly". When I begin to apply that definition to whether or not I'm going to root for the bad guy, imitate the habits of the bad guy, or try to make the bad guy out to be something else entirely, I think I'll discover that I really can't do any of those in good conscience.

Yes Virginia, there really are such things as bad guys. We're all one of them at birth. The good news is there really is such a thing as a really good guy, a perfect guy even. He died for us so we could become one too.

Finding the right path

Several months ago I posted some thoughts about Rooting for the Bad Guy. The only comments that post received focused more on the fictional elements of character development and the spiritual dimension of everyone can find salvation and redemption. There was a deeper sociological thread that I was pointing to in that post that bears revisiting here. My next statement is certainly not original and will come across as a "No Duh!" to many of you. Our world is going to hell in a hand basket.

Perhaps it is better to more specifically state another obvious truth. Our society is becoming increasingly tolerant and accepting of violence. I don't just mean the carnage we see in movies or the unedited news clips. We have moved from being tolerant of violence and all the subcultural elements associated with it to promoting it. In doing some research on gangs for one of my novels in progress, I came across some shocking search results.

We are no longer surprised by the link between street gangs and certain types of music. We are slowly becoming numb to the growing association of certain professional athletes and gang symbols. What disturbs me is how the rest of middle class America is getting in on the action. Apparently it has become the craze for every sub group of people to develop their own "gang signs". I came across webpostings of the gang signs for everything from Unix programmers to self-proclaimed nerds. Social networking sites and online games that are not "violence" oriented even use gangs as a method for organization, somehow trying to sanitize the use of the word. Maybe not the most disturbing but certainly ranking up there was this description of one college student's personal webspace - "You can find cool links, infos about gangs and theirs signs and slang, and much more here." (emphasis mine)

Going back to my post about rooting for the bad guy - Yes, multi-dimensional characters are more exciting and believable. I use them myself. Yes, everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, can find salvation and redemption. BUT, we must look a little more carefully at what appears to merely be multidimensional and what is a symptom of a larger issue. Bad things are bad things, whether they are part of a larger reality or not. Acceptance of these things is not acceptable.

Just as society needs to be careful about how it views, accepts, and passively promotes social mores and behavior, someone on a faith journey and the entire Body of Christ need to be equally mindful of the behavioral and philosophical standards they espouse actively AND passively. What are the things we practice or tolerate that are acceptable to Christ? What are the things that stand in contradiction to being his disciple?

I know I am beginning to sound like some kind of fundamentalist, holy roller, out of touch with the real world religious zealot/bigot. If you know me personally, you know that I have been more often accused of being too worldly instead of the opposite. Speaking from the perspective of someone on a Christian faith journey who desires to encourage others doing the same as well as help some begin their own faith journey, this is a reality that must be addressed.

I find myself struggling as of late with what is meant by phrases like "the narrow way". I'm searching for that middle way that is still path of complete obedience, allegiance, and desire to be like him. It is the path between legalism and full-blown liberalism. I believe the way is narrow and that is does lie between these two extremes.

I don't have a good way to wrap up these thoughts. This more of a on-the-fly posting. It certainly is a bit heavier than the usual fare here. But just as the blog says, it's just a thought.

A Christmas Card

This has been an interesting year for us in terms of Christmas cards. We have received very few. Part of the reason is I am no longer a pastor, so I don't have a congregation full of people giving us one. But we still have the same number of friends. I've even noticed at work that few Christmas wishes are exchanged. Perhaps the assault on Christmas is beginning to have effect.

Of course, I'm not complaining. I'm just making an observation. To be completely honest about the situation, we did not send out ANY this year. We just ran out of time. For once, my wife listened to me when I said not to worry to about them (literally worry about them). However, we would like for all our friends and family to know we wish them a Merry Christmas. Thus this post. Unfortunately, only about three or four of said family and friends read this blog. But hey, it's the thought that counts, right?

So without further ado, to make this an official Christmas card, here is our first annual Christmas newsletter.

Wow! Can you believe Christmas is here already? It seems like it has only been a year since last Christmas. 2008 was a busy year for all of us. Here are the highlights for each one.


Matt resigned as pastor of New Life Wesleyan Church in February. It was a timely move since Bob Barr, the Libertarian candidate for president, asked him to head up his campaign. Matt protested that he knew nothing about running a presidential campaign. Bob insisted and Matt needed the job anyway. This probably explains our poor showing in the elections. Sensing the campaign was not going to end well, Matt resigned from that position in August to begin teaching seventh grade math at Clayton Middle School.

Tammy continued her present career path as mom, homemaker, and lead teacher at Trinity Christian Academy. Not many days went by that she didn't ask herself why. In addition to this already busy schedule, she started her own curriculum consulting company. Considering the hours she has put into researching this field, she figured it was a great way to make all that work payoff financially. It will also pay the medical bills incurred so that we can have the strained eyesight and carpal tunnel syndrome fixed from all that time on the computer. If you have a curriculum question, give her a call. Her next goal is to apply for the vacant superintendent position of Johnston County Schools.

Joshua began the year taking up a new pasttime - hunting. Using the pellet gun he received last Christmas, he rescued the neighborhood from a rabid bear that was terrorizing us all. Discovering that he had a special gift, probably due to some unknown Native American heritage in his bloodstream, Joshua opened his own hunting guide service. If you're interested in hunting moose, rhino, or any other exotic big game in our neighborhood, Joshua can ensure your success. In addition to discovering a love for hunting, Joshua continued to hone his Cub Scout skills. He is only one activity pin away from earning all twenty pins available to Webelos Scouts. He is anxiously counting down the day to when he crosses over to Boy Scouts in only three months.

Noah's year has been equally exciting. He finished his first year of Cub Scouts in the spring. This put him one step closer to his dream of living as far away from civilization as possible. We began renting out his bedroom for extra cash since he decided to move out into the yard. The large nest in the tree out back leads one to believe that either Big Bird or an African lowland gorilla has moved into our backyard. Despite his desire to live in the wilderness for the rest of his life, Noah continues to work on his education due to legal requirements. Most days demonstrate excellent progress even though he will never use anything he has learned.

I'll leave it up to you to decide what's true and what isn't, what's dead on and what's embellishment. One thing is true, our year, just like yours, was filled with joys, excitement, and struggles. God was with us every step of the way. We always knew he was there, even when we had no clue how we would get through some of those struggles. And we of course gave him praise in each moment of joy and triumph. I'm sure 2009 will bring more of the same, including his ever abiding presence. This Christmas, we wish for you to experience that same presence as we remember how he became flesh and dwelled among us.

Merry Christmas!
Matt, Tammy, and the boys

A Christmas Poem

For the last 24 hours we have been suffering from a stomach bug that for now we are blaming on my niece. In between spurts of energy and other things, I composed this Christmas poem with a special tongue in cheek message. My apologies to Clement C. Moore.

'Twas three days before Christmas and all through the house
Not an adult was stirring, not me nor my spouse
The trash cans were positioned by our places with care
In hopes that when we got sick that they would be there

We were lying about, on the couch and the bed
Because of the turmoil that filled our stomachs with dread
The children did their best to play nice and get along
While our intestines played a not so sweet song

When out of my innards there arose such a clatter
I sprang for the restroom and hoped it wouldn't splatter
Away to the porcelain I flew like a flash
Make up your own line here that ends with the word splash

The moon outside, well, I didn't care
How it shone on the world out there
When to my own wondering mind should appear
That cramps in my stomach would cause a great tear

Two holiday affairs have already been canceled or at least postponed
A third one's in danger so stay by the phone
As we lay immobilized we wished it would pass
We meant the whole sickness and not just the gas

Despite our discomfort and change of plans
It is the season we celebrate the greatest gift to man
A time of Joy, and Hope come down
To fill a manger while giving up a crown

The gifts of love we share with each other
Are symbols of love modeled on another
God became flesh to dwell with us here
And then later died so that death we might not fear

So, no matter where you are or how you might feel
Remember the Christmas story that is very real
Discover Peace and walk in its Light
Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night

What does it take to make a community?

As part of our children's study of colonial America, we have been watching Colonial House, a reality tv program from PBS. A group of people try to recreate the experience of the Massachusetts Bay Colony of 1628. The gentleman serving as the governor of the colony has been faced with the difficulty of trying to enforce 17th century Puritanical law with a group of 21st century individuals. It just didn't work. People, especially women, complained about what we would now consider ridiculous regulations - required Sabbath worship attendance, no profanity, modest hair coverings, corsets, etc. Finally, the governor suspended enforcement of all Sabbath laws. What resulted was an gradual protest against all such laws.


The problem was not with the ridiculous nature of the laws. The problem was that not everyone had a shared worldview. One atheist woman wondered aloud whether she would have kept her mouth shut in 1628 or martyred herself. What she failed to see is that had she lived in 1628, her worldview would have probably been quite similar to that trying to be enforced. (Not all the laws were simply Puritanical. Some were actually commonly accepted English customs of the time.) It does cause one to wonder more deeply about the gradual evolution of societal norms that led to the more pluralistic society we have today. Who were the ones to begin the question and rebel? Had they always been there, choosing to remain quiet? What caused them to finally speak out?

More importantly to me are the questions that begin to arise about religious belief. What is that binds a group of people into a religious community? Even in the Christian community, you have many different types of communities. You might even think of them as denominations. Even within denominations you get different flavors on the local church levels. There MAY be a common agreement on what the Core is, but usually the common bond centers more around a very specific set of convictions or interpretations. In today's society those do not even hold as people move on to the next church (community) when something about their current situation is not satisfactory. Or, they will fight to make it like they want it.

After pondering these thoughts for a couple of days, I came up with the following conclusions. I think the root of it all has to be a certain degree of self-sacrifice. In order for to community to remain together and function properly, everyone has to be willing to sacrifice specific preferences. The hard part is choosing which preferences those would be. As idealistic as it sounds, if everyone sacrificed everything, would that be better or would it simply lead to anarchy because there would be no standard.

Which leads me to what is the greatest example of self-sacrifice I know - Jesus death on a cross as payment for our sins. When we accept that sacrifice, we become part of the body of Christ that assembles into local communities. It is this standard that we sacrifice our personal preferences to. We sacrifice our personal preferences to the will of the Holy Spirit that dwells within us. When the Holy Spirit is able to govern our interactions with one another in our self-sacrifice, true community is formed AND maintained.

The problem comes from the fact that as human creatures, we still struggle with that notion. Local churches (communities) experience rifts all the time. There is a failure to maintain the unity in Christ. Which is sad because we don't have to create the unity - it's already there.

Just a thought.

It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

This weekend was filled with wonderful Christmas traditions that made things warm and fuzzy all over. Today we decorated the house for Christmas. We put up the tree, hung the stockings, draped the porch rail with garland, bows, and lights, and played Christmas music throughout most of the day.

Yesterday the missus and I took part in what is a holiday tradition of sorts. We attended a performance of Handel's Messiah by the Carolina Ballet. Despite being about the prophecies, birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ (i.e. more than Christmas and the birth), Messiah has become a Christmas tradition, or more appropriately an Advent tradtion. There were moments during the performance that were especially moving for me. The depiction of Isaiah 60:2,3 of darkness covering the earth was a stark reminder of the sin that rules our lives from birth, the sin that keeps us separated from God. The darkness was shattered as Isaiah 9:2 was sung and high intensity beams of light focused from the rear of the stage and into the audience. The dancers majestically swept across the stage, celebrating the hope that was to come.

The birth of Jesus is celebrated with some of the more familiar portions of Messiah - "For unto us, a child is given . . .", "There were shepherds abiding in the fields . . ." and of the course the Alleluia chorus. This celebration of hope turns to dismay as we are reminded of the rejection of Jesus in Act 2 and his eventual crucifixion. The most poignant moment for me came as the Chorus sang Isaiah 53:4,5. The dancers showed us how humankind in its sinfulness enjoyed its pleasures, but when confronted by Jesus, his love, and his sacrifice, their guilt drove them away.

This morning in our family worship we continued our study of the Gospel of John, specifically John 3:16-21. As we talked about the notion of darkness and light, humankind's love for the darkness and Jesus coming as the true light from God, I could not help but think of yesterday's performance. I shared with the boys my experience as detailed above. We turned our attention to our Advent wreath and the light shining atop of the Preparation candle lit this morning. We talked about the already assembled and lighted but not yet decorated Christmas tree, how in my opinion the lights are the best part. All these things prepare us for the coming of the Jesus. They prepare us to be able to see what his light will expose. They prepare us to receive the healing of the rift between God and us because Jesus did not come to condemn (we already stand condemned John 3:17 -18); he only came to save.

It was a wonderful day to celebrate the most wonderful time of the year. More than ever, I wish every day could be like Christmas.