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Post-Thanksgiving Pre-Advent Thoughts

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Apparently, this will be one of those odd years where Advent doesn’t immediately follow Thanksgiving. According to my understanding, Advent begins next Sunday. I’m not exactly an expert on these things, so it may very well be that I’m wrong about this. If so, be gentle.

Today seemed like a good day to look at old memories on Facebook and Timehop. I’m reminded that two years ago I was dog-sitting in McKay’s Mill for a very lovable and friendly dog named Millie who has since crossed the rainbow bridge.

I also see pictures of my late beloved Lucy, who was looking very contented and well-fed at the time. Part of me still wonders if I missed a clue that might have helped her live a little longer. Most of me knows that she was deeply loved and had a very good life. I was blessed to have her for those 17 years.

I also finally got around to one of the classics of modern cinema. I’m talking about Weekend at Bernie’s. No, it was not a great piece of filmmaking by any stretch, but it was a good representation of the good and bad of 80’s movies.

Today ends the extended version of the weekend known as Thanksgiving/Black Friday. I got caught up on my sleep, made it through a migraine on Saturday, and had a lovely day today.

I’m not sure what to read out of The Book of Common Prayer next. I guess I’ll get a head start on the Advent readings. It’s never too early to start getting my heart ready for the celebration of the promised Messiah.

Here’s a little taste:

“What is coming upon the world is the Light of the World. It is Christ. That is the comfort of it. The challenge of it is that it has not come yet. Only the hope for it has come, only the longing for it. In the meantime we are in the dark, and the dark, God knows, is also in us. We watch and wait for a holiness to heal us and hallow us, to liberate us from the dark. Advent is like the hush in a theater just before the curtain rises. It is like the hazy ring around the winter moon that means the coming of snow which will turn the night to silver. Soon. But for the time being, our time, darkness is where we are” (Frederick Buechner, The Hungering Dark).

Living Out the Gospel

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“Everything in the world is about to be wrapped up, so take nothing for granted. Stay wide-awake in prayer. Most of all, love each other as if your life depended on it. Love makes up for practically anything. Be quick to give a meal to the hungry, a bed to the homeless—cheerfully. Be generous with the different things God gave you, passing them around so all get in on it: if words, let it be God’s words; if help, let it be God’s hearty help. That way, God’s bright presence will be evident in everything through Jesus, and he’ll get all the credit as the One mighty in everything—encores to the end of time. Oh, yes!” (1 Peter 4:7-11, The Message)

The Message translation is hit-or-miss in my book. Sometimes, it misses the mark in capturing the original intent of the author and gets too loose with its paraphrasing. But when it’s on, it’s dead on. Like this passage form 1 Peter 4.

That’s the gist of the gospel right there, spelled out in black and white. Faith isn’t genuine unless it shows itself in good works. Love isn’t genuine unless it goes beyond mere words and takes hands and feet toward the less fortunate in very tangible ways.

It’s not just social justice without addressing the spiritual need for salvation, and it’s not just a call for repentance without meeting their physical needs. It’s both.

Most of all, it’s about loving people in the same way that God in Jesus loved you. Of course, that’s impossible by merely human standards. It only becomes possible when you serve out of the overflow of God’s love.

As my favorite pastor put it, when you receive God’s love, it’s like trying to contain the ocean in a thimble. When that love of God spills out onto those around you, that’s the basis on which you’re loving people with God’s love and serving them from the overflow and not from your own resources.

 

Another Update on Peanut

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On my last Peanut update, I reported that she’d doubled in size. Well, I’m fairly certain that she’s doubled in size again. She weighs 8.2 pounds at 7 months old. I have no idea how big she’ll be when she’s done growing, but I’m positive she’ll be way bigger than my Lucy ever was.

She’s still 100% kitten. She has massive amounts of energy. She also has two modes of existence– full throttle and stop. She’s either a blur of fur or she’s asleep. There’s no in between.

She still likes to have her belly rubbed and is still very grateful for having been rescued back on June 30.

That’s why I advocate for adoption and rescuing cats and dogs. If you’re still stuck between buying from a breeder or rescuing from a shelter, I’d go with the shelter. Those are the animals that really need a good home and will always return the favor by being loyal and affectionate.

Life’s better with a pet. Studies have shown that dogs and cats can reduce stress and lower blood pressure. But one caveat– don’t get a pet unless you’re willing to stick with them for their whole life and truly take care of them and love them like they love you.

That’s it. Peanut’s still helping my heart heal after Lucy’s passing. I’m hoping and praying she has a good, long life. I’m praying she knows how much she’s loved just as much as she’s let me know how much she loves me.

 

 

Thanksgiving 2017

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“I think that is a better thing than thanksgiving: thanks-living. How is this to be done? By a general cheerfulness of manner, by an obedience to the command of Him by whose mercy we live, by a perpetual, constant delighting of ourselves in the Lord, and by a submission of our desires to His will” (Charles Spurgeon).

“Thanksgiving Day is a good day to recommit our energies to giving thanks and just giving” (Amy Grant).

“Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings” (William Arthur Ward).

It’s in the books. Another Thanksgiving has come and gone (or will be gone in about 1 hour and 47 minutes).

It was a low-key affair with just the immediate family dining at Cracker Barrel. They had all the essential Thanksgiving dinner prerequisites at a reasonable price ($12.99) and only a short wait to be seated (20 minutes).

Not to say that I don’t miss the extended family gathered together around the dining room table. I do. In fact, today for a brief moment I was imagining myself back at my Grandmother’s house on Dee Road and I promise I could almost smell the home cooked goodness in the kitchen and fresh baked rolls on the table. I think at that moment, I’d have given up all the money in my savings account to be able to go back there for five minutes.

Still, I have wonderful memories to be thankful for. Plus so much else. Like finding two Cracker Barrel gift cards in my wallet that more than covered my meal. Or just the gift of waking up this morning.

I’m still finding that one thing every day to be thankful for. Some days, it’s easier to find than on others, but every day there’s always something, no matter how small.

 

Living by Gratitude

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“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them” (John F Kennedy).

Today is the 54th anniversary of the assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States. Nearly all of you who were alive on that day back in 1963 remember exactly where you were and what you were doing when you first heard the news.

He may be gone, but his legacy and his words live on.

Anyone can talk a good game, but living it is something entirely different. When it comes to gratitude, anyone can say thanks. Words are cheap. But living out your thanks is much rarer and more precious.

How do you live by gratitude? You pay it forward. You take the good done to you and do something good for someone else. You thank God best by living out His message of reconciliation and hope in a world that desperately needs that message.

In 27 minutes, it’s Thanksgiving Day. Let’s not just live out thanksgiving on this one day of the year but on each and every day of 2017 and 2018 and every year to follow, for as many years that God gives us.

As a reminder, I urge you to look for one small thing every day to be thankful for and see if that doesn’t change your entire outlook on life.

Oh, and happy Thanksgiving Eve, everyone!

 

Do You Do Well to Be Angry?

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“Do you do well to be angry?” (Jonah 4:4, ESV).

That’s the question God asked Jonah. Jonah didn’t want to go to Ninevah in the first place. He knew what kind of people they were, what they did to their enemies, how they showed them no mercy. He knew if he went and preached repentance to them, they might actually repent.

It’s easy to look down on an attitude like that and be self-righteous in condemning Jonah. But do we do the same?

Is there a person or a people group that you don’t think deserves God’s mercy? For some, it might be Muslims, especially the radical element. For others, it might be the LGBTQ community. Maybe it’s those pointy-headed fundamentalists who are always talking hellfire and hatred. Or maybe it’s those ivory tower liberals who have a very laissez-faire “anything goes” kind of morality.

I read today how someone was glad that Charles Manson had died. While I certainly don’t condone what he did by any means, I do think it’s wrong to celebrate the death of any human being created in the image of God, for whom Jesus died.

I firmly believe that when you qualify who is worthy of hearing and receiving the gospel of Jesus Christ, it ceases to be a gospel of grace and becomes a gospel of works and deserving.

Remember that no one deserves God’s grace. No one is exempt from that same grace. as Dr. Adrian Rogers once put it, salvation is not a reward for the righteous but a gift for the guilty.

The gospel of grace in Jesus Christ is for everyone. That goes for all the Donald Trumps out there. That goes for all the Charles Mansons, too. Just ask the Apostle Paul, who was a terrorist against the early Church and called himself the chief of sinners.

It is God’s desire that none should perish but that all should repent and come to saving faith in Jesus. There are no qualifiers. God wants no one to perish. God wants all to be saved. Even your enemies. Even mine. Even people like you and me.

 

If You Don’t Live It, You Don’t Believe It

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I was struck by something in the sermon today.

Basically, the gist of what I heard is that people are hungry and yearning for God. What they’re wanting to see is an authentic witness by a Christian whose walk matches his or her talk.

Often, when people reject Christianity, what they’re put off by isn’t so much God as those who give Him a bad name by talking a good game of faith but living in a way that denies what they profess to believe.

Brennan Manning said that what the world can’t stand is people who profess Jesus but who deny Him with their lifestyle. That’s what an unbelieving world finds so unbelievable.

The key isn’t perfection. It’s authenticity.

I still say the best way to gain someone’s trust in order to share the gospel is to listen. Not listen to respond or to pass judgment. Simply listen to hear their stories and find out who they are.

I still remember the words that Pastor Mike said about having your testimony validated by your lifestyle– if you don’t live it, you don’t believe it.

That’s the simplest (and best) way to put it. If you don’t live it, you don’t believe it.

 

It’s a Good Kind of Tired

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Throughout the day, I had all these grandiose plans about what I was going to write about for tonight’s blog post, but here I am at 10:34 pm, completely pooped and having forgotten every single one of those wonderful ideas.

I know, I know. Write those ideas down. But for me, I always think of things when I’m in the car or some other place where I don’t have access to a pen and paper. I can’t exactly write stuff down when I’m in the middle of rush hour traffic on I-65, can I?

Anyway, I’m tired. It’s not the kind of tired I experienced when I was out pounding the pavement, looking for a job. That was a defeating, soul-weary kind of tired. I was tired when I felt like I hadn’t done anything all day. That’s the worst.

This is a good kind of tired. The kind that comes from putting in a full day’s work and knowing that I accomplished some good today. I made money, but I also made a difference.

The better kind of tired is the one where I get to turn off the alarm and sleep in tomorrow. It may be sad, but I actually fantasize about sleeping these days.

So, it was a good day, and I’m still living the dream.

Living the Dream

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There’s nothing that’s more disappointing on a Friday than to realize it’s only Thursday. At least it’s not Wednesday.

I jest about wanting it to be Friday, but I really believe that there has to be more to life than merely existing from Monday to Friday and then really living on the weekend.

When you finally grasp how much of a gift each day is, then you stop merely existing during the weekdays and start living 24/7.

At least that’s the idea.

There are still some days when it’s all you can do not to count the minutes to 4 pm.

The real secret to living the dream is to not take any of your days for granted but to find ways to make each day matter by living out of the overflow of gratitude and thanksgiving.

So Happy Thursday. Tomorrow is Friday. Really and truly it is.

 

 

 

Recognizing Jesus

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I was struck by something I’d never noticed about Jesus after the resurrection. For whatever reason after He rose from the grave, no one could recognize Him by His physical appearance. Even Mary thought He was the gardener when she first saw Him.

Maybe it was the fact that their senses kept telling them it really couldn’t be a risen Jesus. After all, they had seen Him die.

Or maybe Jesus’ glorified body was what threw them off.

I don’t know. The Bible isn’t clear on that one particular issue. I’ll have to find out when I get to heaven.

I learned something new today. There were three ways in which Jesus’ disciples could recognize Him post-resurrection.

First, they knew Him by His voice. When Jesus called Mary by her name, that’s the moment she knew for certain it was her Lord speaking. Jesus Himself said that His sheep know His voice and follow Him.

Second, they knew Him in the breaking of the bread. The two disciples on the Emmaus Road didn’t realize who they’d been talking to until Jesus took bread and broke it before them. Maybe their minds flashed back to that Lord’s Supper before Good Friday and the crucifixion.

Last, they knew Him by His miracles. When Jesus approached the disciples as they were fishing, they didn’t know it was Him until their nets were overflowing to the breaking point with fish. All the signs and wonders they had seem Him do came flooding back into their memories.

Since the ascension, we have the Holy Spirit who reminds us of all that Jesus taught us. It’s He who helps us to discern whether the spirits and voices are of Jesus or not. We know because we recognize His voice. We remember when we break bread together as the body of Christ. We affirm that it’s Him by the miracles we continue to see.

Still, we say with all believers everywhere, “Come quickly, Lord Jesus.”