god

It’s Resolution Time Again

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

By my count, we have 4 more days of 2017. That means it’s time for those new year’s resolutions again.

I have some advice, not original with me, about how to go about making those resolutions go from wishful thinking to reality.

  1. Write them down somewhere. Even if it’s on a roll of toilet paper, writing them down moves them from hypothetical to real goals.
  2. Make them tangible and visual. Don’t just say that you want to lose weight. Say that you want to run in a 5K or fit into size 32 jeans.
  3. Make them realistic. Don’t aim to run an Ironman Triathlon if you’ve never done any serious running in your entire life.
  4. Celebrate the victories, even the small ones.
  5. Remember that the ultimate goal isn’t hitting goals but improving your quality of life.
  6. Make at least one goal very attainable, like taking a nap every day. Ok, that one’s mine, but I think it’s a good one.

So there you go. I actually wrote something that has bullet points and everything. Unlike my Pinterest boards, you can actually use it to do something constructive.

Now go and do it.

 

364 More Days

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

Yes, it’s only 364 more days until Christmas 2018. Yes, I’m already counting.

I’m always a little sad when Christmas Day ends. I know that technically if you count the 12 days of Christmas, we have until January 6, the Day of Ascension.  But still, it feels like some of the magic has ended for another year.

Maybe this year, I’ll go crazy and watch Christmas movies in months other than December. I could always pick a few to watch on the 25th of each month.

Or maybe I could go even crazier and actually buy some of my Christmas gifts early, so I can actually enjoy the Advent and Christmas season without worrying about who will get what.

Best of all, I can always be like that old Ebenezer Scrooge at the end of A Christmas Carol and honor Christmas in my heart all the days of the year, especially the Child in the manger who doesn’t just live in the hearts of men and women one day of the year.

But you can rest assured that I WILL be counting down the days until December 25, 2018. Darn tootin’.

 

 

That Magic Blanket

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

“Christmas – that magic blanket that wraps itself about us, that something so intangible that it is like a fragrance. It may weave a spell of nostalgia. Christmas may be a day of feasting, or of prayer, but always it will be a day of remembrance – a day in which we think of everything we have ever loved” (Augusta E. Rundel).

If you asked me to name all the gifts I received last year, I’d probably get about half of them right. If you went further back — say five years– I probably wouldn’t have the first clue.

It’s not about the gifts. It’s about remembering and creating new memories.

It seems that on Christmas all the ones we’ve ever lost seem nearer, and their loss felt more keenly, than on any other day of the year. I even found myself missing my old cat Lucy more today than I have in a while.

It’s also remembering the Child born in the manger who grew up to be the Savior of the world. His life and death and resurrection mean that those we’ve lost don’t have to live on only in our memories. Those who have died in Jesus will be the first to be resurrected, and we will see them again.

Christmas and Easter mean that nothing good in this life is ever lost. True hope never dies and true faith never fails.

In 48 minutes, another Christmas will be in the books, but the meaning and spirit of the day will live on into 2018 and through all the days of all the years.

 

 

This is Still the Time God Chooses

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

“For this is still the time God chooses.”

It still amazes me the way God broke into the world, not as a powerful ruler but as a helpless infant born to a peasant couple in backwoods Bethlehem.

It still amazes me how the first evangelists weren’t the highly trained religious scholars who had spent their entire lives searching the Scriptures but some smelly illiterate shepherds guarding their flocks on some remote hill out in the middle of nowhere.

It still amazes me that the place God chose to lay His head that first night wasn’t on some soft downy pillow but among the straw in a feeding trough.

It still amazes me that God chose to come on the darkest night at the bleakest moment in history and become Emmanuel, God with us.

It amazes me even more that God looked into the darkness of my own heart and said, “For this one, I’m willing to be born in order to die on a rugged cross.”

I’m most amazed that I’m not more astonished at this marvelous event. Most of the time, I take it for granted and presume on God’s mercies like I’m entitled to them, when in reality I’m the least deserving of but most overwhelmed by the grace of God.

Christmas reminds me of what a pastor once said about how heaven isn’t a reward for the righteous but a gift for the guilty. Emmanuel didn’t come for those who are confident in their own abilities and righteousness but for those who know how desperately they need a Savior. He came to seek and save those who know they are lost.

“When the time was right, the Anointed One died for all of us who were far from God, powerless, and weak. Now it is rare to find someone willing to die for an upright person, although it’s possible that someone may give up his life for one who is truly good. But think about this: while we were wasting our lives in sin, God revealed His powerful love to us in a tangible display—the Anointed One died for us” (Romans 5:6-8, The Voice).

The Word Made Flesh

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

“When the Maker of time, the Word of the Father, was made Flesh, He gave us His birthday in time, and He, without Whose divine bidding no day runs its course, in His incarnation reserved one day for Himself. He Himself with the Father precedes all spans of time, but on this day, issuing from His mother, He stepped into the tide of years. Man’s Maker was made Man that He, the Ruler of the stars, might nurse at His mother’s breast, that the Bread might be hungry, that the Fountain thirst, the Light sleep, the Way be tired from the journey, that Truth be accused by false witnesses, that the Judge of the living and dead be judged by a mortal judge, that the Teacher be beaten with whips, the Vine crowned with thorns, the Foundation be suspended on wood, that Strength might be made weak, that the Healer be wounded, that Life might die

He became Man in order to suffer these and similar undeserved things for us so that He might save us, who are undeserving of being saved. He, Who on account of us endured such great evils, Himself merited no evil, while we, who through Him are so bountifully blessed, have no merits of our own, except for those He chooses to give us, to show for such blessings. Therefore, because of this, He, Who before all ages and without any beginning determined by days, was the Son of God, saw fit in these latter days to become the Son of Man. And, He, Who was born of the Father but not made by the Father, was made in the womb of the mother whom He Himself had made, that He might be born here on earth of her who did not exist except through Him. She was the one who conceived Him in her heart before conceiving Him in her womb” (St. Augustine).

Happy Winter Solstice!

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

Apparently, today is the Winter Solstice, a fact that almost slipped by. It’s 11:16 pm and I only just realized today is the shortest day of the year. After today, the amount of daylight starts increasing again with a view to Spring 2018. So, that means that it won’t be getting dark at 4 pm for much longer.

Today is also Short Girl Appreciation Day for any girl who’s 5’5″ or under. If you qualify, I definitely think you should celebrate. After all, some reach perfection earlier than others, right?

I confess that I don’t feel ready for Christmas. Not in the least. I have nearly all my presents bought and wrapped, but I don’t feel like my heart is prepared for the coming of the Child born in the manger.

I blinked and it was already Advent season. I blinked again and it’s 3 days until Christmas. I blink again and it will all be over until 2018.

I wish that it would all slow down for a little while. I want to take the time to relish and savor this Christmas season before it’s all over.

Today is also the first official day of winter. In the usual ironic twist of Tennessee weather, we’re having a bit of a warm spell. Not warm in the sense of breaking out the speedos, but in the sense of wearing lighter jackets. It could almost be spring (or early fall).

So, happy Winter Solstice/First Day of Winter/Advent!

May you truly come to the true heart of Christmas this season and celebrate the Child in the manger who still does not live in the hearts of men and women one day of the year but all the days of all the years.

 

 

Missing Our Princess

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

I finally got around to seeing the latest installment in the Star Wars franchise, The Last Jedi. It’s not the absolute best or the absolute worst Star Wars movie I’ve ever seen. It does entertain and tell a good story, which is what these movies have always been about.

It was bittersweet seeing Carrie Fisher one last time as Princess Leia. She passed away on December 27 after suffering a major heart attack on a flight.

There was a touching tribute in the credits that read, “In loving memory of our princess, Carrie Fisher.”

It still feels like part of my childhood has passed away. I wonder how they’ll address her absence in Episode IX, which probably hits theaters in 2019. I know for certain that the movie won’t be the same without her. I for one hope they don’t try to insert a CGI-Carrie into the movie.

In keeping with tradition and respect, I won’t give away any spoilers here. I will say to go see Star Wars: The Last Jedi as soon as humanly possible. It’s definitely a movie that needs to be seen in a movie theater.

In the mean time, she will never be truly gone. Her movies will still be around to remind people of just what an amazing actress and human being she was.

RIP, Princess Leia. We will always miss you.

 

 

A New Bucket List Item

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

I spent the evening at one of my favorite places– the Opryland Hotel.

What makes this place so special is how they will spend 6 months putting together all their Christmas lights and decorations. The results are more than worth it.

As usual, I put in over 20,000 steps walking around from one conservatory to the next. It’s impressive. It’s ridiculously over the top in the best way possible. It’s overwhelming at times.

I think I have a new bucket list item. I want to stay in one of the rooms overlooking the Delta Atrium during the Christmas season (or at least when the lights are all up). I think I’d prefer to stay on either the very top floor or the one just below it. Either would work just fine for me. I think a weekend stay would suit me just fine.

I’d also like to dine at the Old Hickory Steakhouse. Even though I’ve never dined there, I always imagine it’d cost me at least one of my vital organs. Or just an arm and a leg.

I’m refraining from looking up how much all of this would actually cost. I don’t want to ruin my perfect little fantasy.

At the very least, I get to spend a couple of hours every year taking in all the holiday glory that is the Opryland Hotel in December.

Merry Christmas to me, indeed!

A Borrowed Advent Blog Post

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

“… so yeah, amidst the noise of everything, that’s what it comes down to: Be silent stress, be silent worries, be silent fears,
just hush all worry, hush all hurry — & hear Him in the stillness:
“Know that I am God … Step out of the traffic! Take a long, loving look at Me, your High God, above politics, above everything.” Ps.46:10, MSG
Sadness is never the end of the story. Jesus is the end of our story – and the beginning of our story and the best part of our story.
Above the pressures, above the pace, above the politics, above the news, above the rushing, above the deadlines, above everything — take a long, loving look at Him — your High God who is above all that is pressing in on you — & press into Him.
The Lord God Almighty is here among us, the Lord is Here —
so Peace is here among us,
& brave praise rises from amongst us,
& there are arms to carry us through all this here
because knowing that He is God means knowing we are His Beloved and we will always be held” (Ann Voskamp).

www.TheGreatestChristmas.com
bit.ly/GreatestGiftforyou

Your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is to read the above paragraph at least once a day for as long as it takes to sink in and become reality in your mind.

Also, to drink lots of egg nog (or whatever substitute you choose if you’re not an egg nog fan) and have a Merry Christmas!

 

Holding On to Hope

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

“And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying,

 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
    for he has visited and redeemed his people
and has raised up a horn of salvation for us
    in the house of his servant David,
 as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old” (Luke 1:67-70, ESV).

This was part of the text from today’s sermon at The Church at Avenue South. As I heard these words, I couldn’t help but think of how utterly incredible and miraculous the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth was.

Think about it. Both were well beyond their child-bearing years. In ordinary human terms, they were way past hope. But in God’s story, nothing and no one is beyond hope.

That’s my takeaway for whoever needs it tonight.

No one is beyond hope in God’s story. The fact that you and I are still here means that God’s not done with us.

It also means that some of those dreams that seem lost and dashed to pieces might not be so dead after all. Just ask that elderly couple who gave birth to John the Baptist.

My hope isn’t in my dreams. It’s in the God who makes dreams come true. Or who has something in mind way bigger than my mind and dreams could ever conceive.

If you’re still waiting on a dream or a promise, trust God in the meantime. Learn to be completely content in where He has you right now, believing that God still knows what He’s doing.