Snapshots of Grace

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I went to a birthday party of a friend of mine tonight. She turned the big 3-0. Been there, done that, found out it’s not so bad.

She had helium balloons floating in one of the rooms with pictures tied to them. Each one was a picture of her at some point in her life, with some showing her as a kid, some as a teen, and the more recent ones showing her all grown up.

I was captivated by that idea. I think each of us are defined in many ways by defining moments in our lives– snapshots, if you will. Those are the events in our lives that we remember as if we’re looking at a Polaroid taken at that very moment.

For me, it was the moment I found out about my granddad’s passing. Or when my boss called me into his office after the first plane had struck the World Trade Center building on September 11, 2001.

I can also remember walking across the stage to accept my diploma in my graduation ceremony from Union University.

That’s just it. You don’t get to pick your memories. You don’t get to pick how many good or bad ones you’ll have. You do get to choose  what you do with those memories and how you look at them. How you look at life through them.

The old cliche is true. You can take the bad memories from your life and either let them make you bitter or better. You can choose cynicism and unbelief or you can choose forgiveness and faith.

Some of my best memories are of the friends I’ve made, including the friend who just turned 30. Others involve my family. More often than not– nearly all of the time– the best memories will involve people and not possessions or accomplishments.

I choose to believe the best about others and bring it out of them because that’s what Jesus did for me. I choose to trust that God can take the worst moments of my life and make them the first part of my testimony to how good God is and how He can turn a wreck into something beautiful.

I think I’ll have one more good set of memories after tonight.

My 2015 Resolutions As of January 1, 2015

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Note: these are still a work in progress, so they are subject to change. Most likely, I will think of something I left out and add it at a later date, hopefully before 2016.

Here are my resolutions for the new year (already in progress):

1) Lose 30 pounds. I figure that’s roughly 2.5 pounds per month. That’s doable, I think.

2) Read through the Bible again this year.

3) Wear my 30 X 30 jeans again (this won’t happen unless I accomplish goal #1)

4) Be working in a full-time permanent job by the end of the year.

5) Be better at giving other people the benefit of the doubt and giving grace both to others and to myself.

6) Do something spontaneous every day of 2015.

7) Do 5 things I’ve never done before (I’ll have to figure out what those are first).

8) Continue to be awesome.

9) Get back into jogging/running/fast walking/treadmilling/some other form of regular exercise.

I think that covers it for now. If I think of anything else, I’ll add it and note that I added it so I will remember that I added it. Comprende?

 

Last Prayer of 2014

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This prayer comes courtesy of Frederick Buechner. It just so happens to be my prayer for the night as well:

“Lord Jesus Christ, thou Son of the Most High, Prince of Peace, be born again into our world. Wherever there is war in this world, wherever there is pain, wherever there is loneliness, wherever there is no hope, come, thou long-expected one, with healing in thy wings.

Holy Child, whom the shepherds and the kings and the dumb beasts adored, be born again. Wherever there is boredom, wherever there is fear of failure, wherever there is temptation too strong to resist, wherever there is bitterness of heart, come, thou Blessed One, with healing in thy wings.

Savior, be born in each of us as we raise our faces to thy face, not knowing fully who we are or who thou art, knowing only that thy love is beyond our knowing and that no other has the power to make us whole. Come, Lord Jesus, to each who longs for thee even though we have forgotten thy name. Come quickly. Amen.”

Community of Faith

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Sometimes, it’s easy to believe. Everything is going your way and you seemingly are getting all the breaks.

Sometimes, it’s not so easy. Your prayers bounce back from the ceiling and you can’t hear God as well as before, but you keep praying and trusting, though with little seeds of doubt creeping in.

Sometimes, you don’t have it in you anymore to pray or believe for yourself.

That’s where community comes in. That’s what I believe we’re called to do in 2015.

Community means that I believe for you when you can’t believe for yourself when it comes to the promises of God. It means that I pray on your behalf claiming your promises for you when you can’t get the words to come out.

On occasion, I find it easier to visualize the person I’m praying for. I picture him (or her) in a small chapel, walking down the center aisle. I picture Jesus at the end of that aisle. I see myself as guiding that person toward Jesus and watching as He wraps His arms around the person for whom I’m praying.

Community means that we encourage each other. It also means we don’t accept easy answers, but push beyond the “I’m fine”s to get to the truth. It means that every now and then we speak the hard truth, but speak it in love, when we see the other headed down a harmful path.

Community means that we are honest, vulnerable, and transparent as close to 100% of the time as our imperfections will allow. It means that we choose to love the unlovable in our midst, remembering that we too were at one point unlovable before Christ made us loveable.

That’s what the 1st century world saw in the early Christians that won them over. That’s what God used to turn the world upside down (or more accurately, right-side up again) and transform a small band of believers into His Church.

That’s what the world around us needs to see more than ever right now and in 2015.

 

Three More Days of 2014

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screen shot 2013-07-09 at 10.14.10 am

I really can’t believe it. Only 3 more days left in the year? 72 hours? It seems like it’s only been a month since we rang in 2014. Two, tops. Seriously, the year has flown by. But in a little over three days, we’ll be ringing in 2015 with all the usual pomp and circumstance but sadly with no Dick Clark. I still miss that guy.

2014 has been anything but expected, but it’s been good. Why? I’m still here. That’s the best reason of all to celebrate– being alive for one more day.

I’m not dying just yet. I’m just extremely grateful these days, most of all for the gift of life.

Here’s a sampling of some of what I’ve written this year:

https://oneragamuffin.wordpress.com/2014/11/25/my-commentary-on-current-events/

https://oneragamuffin.wordpress.com/2014/11/16/6882/

https://oneragamuffin.wordpress.com/2014/03/09/life-lessons-from-a-great-movie/

Those are three randomly chosen blogs that I wrote at some point during 2014.

On a side note, 2015 is the year we finally catch up to Marty McFly from Back to the Future fame. As you remember from the 1985 classic, he first went back in time to 1955 to save his parents’ marriage (and as a result, he saved himself). In the sequel, Marty goes into the future to save his kids– October 21, 2015 to be precise. Of course, there’s a third movie where Marty goes back to 1885 dressed up as a pink Clint Eastwood. But that’s not important right now.

I have to admit most of the clothing looks like the 80’s on steroids. I’m thankful that current fashion isn’t based on Back to the Future Part II. Especially not that jacket with the retractable arms. And the technology has surpassed in many ways what the movie envisioned for 2015 (like for instance the very excellent blu ray version of the Back to the Future trilogy).

I’m still waiting on the hoverboards. And I can’t wait to see what God will do next in 2015.

Wise Men Still Seek Him

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Wise Men Still Seek Him_1

 

Ahh, those wise men. I’ve talked about them a bit, haven’t I? I mentioned how they probably weren’t at the birth scene, despite their inclusion in so many nativity scenes. I’ve mentioned that there may or may not have been three of them (and the names ascribed to them– Gaspar, Melchior, and Balthasar– may or may not actually belong to them).

But I thought about them in a new way today.

When they saw the star the first time, they didn’t just hop in a taxi and yell, “Take us to Bethlehem, pronto!”

Most likely, they spent weeks and months and possibly years following this star. They didn’t know where it would lead. They only knew that at the end of the journey was the hope of all their dreams and the answer to all their questions and the object of all their hopes.

I’m sure they grew weary from endless days and nights wandering through deserts and probably at some point one or more of them entertained thoughts of giving up and going home. But they didn’t.

They persevered because of a promise. They kept going because of a dream in their hearts that refused to die.

I wonder sometimes if I would have been so persistent in pursuing this Christ child. Would I be that tenacious now? Would I really be willing to leave everything and everyone I know and go (alone if necessary) to follow after this Jesus?

I hope so. I pray so.

I love their initial response to finding Jesus. Matthew says “and as soon as the wise men arrived, they saw Him with His mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped Him.”

They didn’t unpack their suitcases. They didn’t sit down to a meal or request something to drink after a long journey. They worshipped. They fell to their faces in astonished awe at seeing the result of their long and arduous journey.

May you and I do the same. May you and I remember that the best worship is always that which costs us something to offer.

 

Happy New Year’s Eve Eve Eve Eve Eve

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I think that’s right. I’m not the best at math but I think that’s the correct number of Eves in the title.

What else do you call it? It’s not Boxing Day. That was yesterday. It’s one of those weird days between Christmas and New Year’s Eve that doesn’t have a name.

Supposedly, this is the day where you give three french hens to that special loved one, according to the song. So if you’re still looking for ideas 2 days after the fact, there you go.

I’m already looking forward to 2015, as I know many of you are. I know it will take me at least a month to get used to writing “2015” on all my checks and letters, but I’m up for the challenge.

The good news is that God will be just as sovereign in 2015 as He was in 2014. He will be just as able to supply all your and all my needs in Christ in 2015 as He was in 2014.

Whatever happens in 2015, God will be there. That, my friends, is something to look forward to.

 

 

Till the Season Comes Round Again

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“May the new year be blessed with good tidings
’til the next time I see you again
And we’ll all join hands and remember this moment
And we’ll love and we’ll laugh in the time that we have
’til the season comes ’round again
’til the season comes ’round again” (Randy Goodrum/John Barlow Jarvis).

I got a bit nostalgic this Christmas. Not in a sad or morbid way. I just had the thought that it will never again be like it was this Christmas. My niece won’t ever be three years old again. My nephews will soon enough be teenagers and not nearly as excited about Christmas and presents.

In fact, there will never be another day like today ever again. There will certainly be more good days, even possibly some great ones that you will spend the rest of your life remembering fondly. But none like this day.

That’s why it’s important to make this one count. There’s a saying from a TV show I saw recently that I like a lot. It says, “One today is worth two tomorrows.”

That means don’t be so concerned about the future that you forget to live in the present. Don’t get so caught up in the past that you forget to be in the now. Take the chances you’re afraid to take. Do the thing you’ve been putting off.

Tell the ones you love that you love them. Don’t ever for a moment think that you’ll always have a tomorrow to tell them. Tomorrow’s never promised and the present is a gift.

I may be descending into cliches, but they’re true. I wish I could go back and say the words “I love you” to some of my relatives that aren’t around anymore. I wish I could sit down with each of them one more time for one last conversation.

Maybe I can do that with the ones who are in my life right now while I still can. I think I’ll do that.

December the 25th

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It is that day. Christmas has arrived.

When I was younger, I always felt a letdown on this day. After all the buildup and hype for over a month, it always seemed to be over too soon. December 26 was never a day I looked forward to at all.

But the more I’ve started to really grasp that Christmas isn’t about presents or food, I’ve really seen my attitude about this day change dramatically.

For me, Christmas may be one day out of the year, but the truth it contains is good for all 365 days of the year. And 366 for those crazy leap years,

The truth is that Immanuel still means that God is with us on December 26 just as much as it did the day before. That baby in the manger grew up to be the Savior of the world for all the seasons, not just the Christmas season.

While I do like seeing the decorations everywhere and having that special feeling around this time of year, I know that God will still be just as much with me three months from now as He is right now.

And when those good feelings fade, as they always do, I know the truth will remain. That peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased is there regardless of whether I feel it or not.

Plus, if you want to get technical about it, Christmas doesn’t officially end until January 6. You do remember all those verses to that Twelve Days of Christmas song, right? So you can leave your tree up for at least another two weeks if you want.

I personally think that if you want to keep on watching those sappy Hallmark Christmas movies well into the new year, go ahead. If you want to dust off White Christmas and watch it in July, then be my guest.

Christmas may only last 24 hours but Immanuel is forever with us.

 

 

Christmas Eve at Radnor Lake

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image

“I need a silent night, a holy night
To hear an angel voice through the chaos and the noise
I need a midnight clear, a little peace right here
To end this crazy day with a silent night” (Chris Eaton/ Amy Grant).

I had some last minute Christmas shopping to do, so I hit some of the stores. I stopped by Brilliant Sky to pick up some gifts for my nephews, then I headed over to TJ Maxx for something for my grandmother.

Every year I say that next year I won’t wait until the last day to buy my presents and when that next year becomes this year, I always end up shopping on December 24. So in 2015 . . .

Anyway, I had one more stop– the Christmas Eve service at my church.

Seeing as how I was going to be REALLY early, I decided to make one detour. I stopped off at Radnor Lake for a bit. It really was a very spontaneous decision, literally made as I was pulling to the stop light where I turn to go to the park.

I think I was one of only a handful of people there. It was very peaceful and quiet. Very calming for my mind. I was reminded why Jesus so often went to a solitary place to pray.

I thought I heard sleigh bells behind me for a minute, but it turned out it was the jingle of some dog’s harness. Apparently, the owner thought it would be a good idea to take the dog jogging on Christmas Eve. I could tell the dog probably had different ideas of how to have a good time and celebrate the holiday.

I was only there for 20 minutes, but it did me a world of good. I just needed a bit of silence in my day.