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Hey, They Can’t All Be Winners, Right?

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This is what you get when yours truly (me) decides to wait until 12:58 am to write one of these blog posts. Not much.

I had a rather good day, starting off with the first church service for The Church at Avenue South to start off 2017. Then me and a friend headed over to Nissan Stadium to witness the Tennessee Titans pull out a win in their last game of the season.

I had dinner at Local Taco with my amazing new life group. The dinner was great, too. Food always tastes better with good company and good conversation.

At the moment, I’m typing these words while lying in bed with the usual sleepy geriatric feline on the pillow next to mine. I should note that she took it upon herself to start sleeping next to me. I never once prodded or prompted her to sleep there.

That’s all I know at the moment. Plus, I’m thinking of calling it a night myself. Hopefully, I can be a little more disciplined tomorrow (or later on today) and write this thing earlier so it will have actual content in it.

Good night to all my faithful readers– and to those who accidentally wandered onto this post. May your 2017 be better and brighter than ever.

 

Prayer for the New Year

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I posted this prayer last year on social media. May this be the prayer of all our hearts as we enter into 2017.

“Lord as this new year dawns,
welcome.
Welcome into our world
and into our lives.
Sow light into our hearts.
Let it germinate and grow
and bring forth fruit.
Birth in us something new.
Let your peace take root.
Nurture it,
encourage it to flourish.
Let your love blossom
with the fragrance of patience and compassion.
Let it strengthen forgiveness and understanding.
Let your life emerge
in us, through us, around us,
bringing newness to all it touches” (Celtic Prayer).

 

New Year’s Adam 2016

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It’s New Year’s Eve Eve, also known as New Year’s Adam, or just another excuse to go get a McRib from McDonalds. I’m fairly certain that no actual cows or ribs or anything involving actual meat products were harmed in the making of those sandwiches.

I know a lot of people are bashing the year 2016 for taking so many beloved celebrities.  I agree that it seems like more than the usual number of famous people have died in the  past 12 months, many in tragic and sudden ways.

But I wonder how many real unsung heroes die every day, those whose deaths go virtually unnoticed. How many soldiers, police officers, firefighters, EMTs, and others sacrifice their lives in the line of duty each and every day?

I for one am thankful for 2016. It was a year where I saw God faithfully provide time and time again. It was a year where I got almost nonstop reminders of God’s providence and sovereignty.

That said, I’m excited for all the possibilities in 2017. I believe it will be a challenging year that calls me out of my comfort zone in many ways, yet it will be a year that will see some spiritual breakthroughs.

My prayer for you in 2017 is the same as my prayer for you in 2016 (and probably the same prayer from 2015). It’s from Ephesians 3:14-21 from The Voice translation of the Bible:

“Father, out of Your honorable and glorious riches, strengthen Your people. Fill their souls with the power of Your Spirit so that through faith the Anointed One will reside in their hearts. May love be the rich soil where their lives take root. May it be the bedrock where their lives are founded so that together with all of Your people they will have the power to understand that the love of the Anointed is infinitely long, wide, high, and deep, surpassing everything anyone previously experienced. God, may Your fullness flood through their entire beings” 

 

The Legacy of Little Things

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“A river touches places of which its source knows nothing, and Jesus says if we have received of His fullness, however small the visible measure of our lives, out of us will flow the rivers that will bless to the uttermost parts of the earth” (Oswald Chambers, Run Today’s Race).

That’s it. Your seemingly insignificant little life could be the ripple in the pond that affects the world. Your small random acts of kindness might leave a legacy that will outlast you.

Mother Teresa once said that there are no great acts but only small acts done with great love. Even your sheer optimism and dogged determination in dealing with the daily drudgeries can have an impact on people that you may never meet in this lifetime.

People are watching. People notice. For better or worse, how you act and how you react will inform others on how much you really believe what you profess. Your life may be the only Bible that some will ever read.

While that could be daunting on one hand, on the other, it’s a reminder that no good deed done out of faith is ever in vain. Your life, small and trivial as it seems, matters.

One day, someone might just tell you. It will most likely be someone you never would have suspected even knew you existed. There could be ten others who you will never meet but whose lives will be just as changed by your faithfulness in the trivialities and details.

My cat snoring is a sign telling me I’d better wrap this up quickly. Ultimately, you being as true to who God made you to be and being faithful where God puts you is as powerful a testimony as any of the dramatic conversions out there.

Here endeth the lesson.

 

 

In The Shadow of the Almighty

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“Put all ‘supposing’ on one side and dwell in the shadow of the Almighty. Deliberately tell God that you will not fret about that thing. All our fret and worry is caused by calculating without God” (Oswald Chambers, Run Today’s Race).

That’s it. I should just end this post here. Oswald Chambers has been one of my favorite devotional writers for years because he was able to articulate truths like few others.

Worry is practical atheism. I confess that I’m just as much guilty of that as anybody. Sometimes I feel like anxiety and worry are default settings that I revert to when my circumstances get stressful.

The antidote to anxiety is worship. Worship isn’t telling God something He doesn’t already know, but reminding yourself of His infinite power and goodness. Worship is declaring the worth of God in everything you do– not just in singing– as a way to reboot your mind to see that God is still working out all things– including your stressful situations– for His glory and your good.

Worry is calculating without God. All those scenarios that cause such dread are missing one key ingredient– God. It’s easy to do when God doesn’t seem as present as your problems.

That’s when you trust the heart of God. You trust that faith really is believing when common sense tells you not to. You believe that God’s promises are just as guaranteed in this moment as they were through all the generations of the Bible, and that they are for you.

I’ll just end this with a quote from one of my favorite writers that sums it all up perfectly.

“Worry is belief gone wrong. Because you don’t believe that God will get it right. But peace – peace is belief that exhales. Because you believe that God’s provision is everywhere – like air” (Ann Voskamp).

 

 

When Harry Met Sally Strikes Back

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harry1

I’m still processing the fact that Princess Leia died today. I understand that all of us humans have an expiration date and will face death someday. I was hoping her’s wouldn’t be so soon.

I decided to honor her memory by revisiting a classic movie where she plays one of her best roles, When Harry Met Sally.

This movie is a cultural icon. Just about every frame is memorable. Through older eyes, I find it both timeless and a time capsule to all things 80’s. The themes are eternal. The hairstyles, fashions, technology, and trends? Not so much. They lend a touch of nostalgia to the film.

I understand that celebrities are just as human as the rest of us. They make poor choices that have consequences. Sometimes, those consequences are fatal.

Still, a lot of them are a part of the fabric of my growing up. I can watch one of their movies and be instantly transported back to when I was 17. For that, I’m forever grateful.

I admire Carrie for her absolute refusal to kowtow to anyone else’s expectations of how she should look or behave. She followed her own path and couldn’t care less if anyone else approved or not.

I’ll most likely be watching the original Star Wars movies some time soon and reliving more old memories. Rest in peace, Princess Leia. You were one of a kind.

 

Boxing Day Randomness

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Here it is, the day after Christmas, when the usual sense of post-holiday despair sets in.   Only this time, I’m at peace with the world and feeling very much contented.

I still love the joy on the faces of my nephews and niece at opening their presents. It’s such a fleeing pleasure that gradually dims a little as they grow another year older.

Speaking of growing older, I’m finding that my own joy comes less and less from the gifts I receive and more and more in the giving. It’s less about the spectacle and more about the quiet moments where the full meaning of the reason for the season sinks in a bit further.

I’m not taking for granted that everyone I love will always be around– even for next Christmas. I’m learning to savor all the times we spend together, to soak in as many memories as I can before it all becomes past tense.

I didn’t quite get around to all the required holiday movie viewing, so I may have to extend the deadline on that one just a bit. I still haven’t seen A Christmas Story, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, or Elf yet. I know, I know. I’m seriously slacking.

I’m also thinking of ways to carry on the Christmas spirit beyond December into the new year. I’m thinking of the sermon at the end of The Bishop’s Wife. David Niven’s character says that the best gift for the baby in the manger who’s birthday we’re celebrating is treating others like we want to be treated. Or better yet, treating others and loving others like Jesus has loved us.

There really should be some kind of special observance for December 27. I’m not ready to give up the Christmas season cold-turkey. Maybe I can commemorate it by continuing to live out that spirit of generosity and kindness and seeking to live a more Christlike life.

That should be a good start.

 

Boxing Day 2016

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Christmas Day officially ended 37 minutes ago. Even though I know that the Christmas spirit lives on, I’m always a little sad to see the day end because I know it means the end of all those festive decorations and lights.

Still more than that, it means the end to the time when I feel most closely connected to the past and all those family and friends who are no longer here. Somehow, those memories seem to visit me a little more freely at this time and I’m a little more thankful for them.

The beauty of Christmas is that because of the child born in the manger, no one I loved is ever really lost to me. I have the hope of seeing them again one day. Those of us who have received the greatest gift of Christmas in the form of Jesus can grieve not as those who have no hope but will the full assurance of the blessed hope that Christ has given to us.

That’s the same hope that nullifies any fear of death and the grave. It cancels out any fear of what anybody here on earth can do to me. That hope not only gives me a future but also an abundant life here and now.

It’s now 12:45. It’s all quiet except for the sound of my geriatric cat purring on the pillow next to mine. I’m still trying to make sense of the blur that has been the last five weeks since Thanksgiving.

I know that the next Christmas Day rolls around in 364 days but I also know the promise that day holds will be good tomorrow and the day after that and through all the days of the year.

That same gift that came in the manger so long ago is still available to anyone who asks and seeks the Christ in faith.

 

 

The True Meaning of Christmas 

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“O God, you have caused this holy night to shine with the
brightness of the true Light: Grant that we, who have known
the mystery of that Light on earth, may also enjoy him
perfectly in heaven; where with you and the Holy Spirit he
lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen” (from The Book of Common Prayer).

It seem like the old adage is true. The older you get, the faster time goes. As a kid, I thought Christmas would never arrive. Now, I feel like if I blink, I might miss it.

This year, I’ve barely had time to revel in the season of Advent and Christmas, and tomorrow is Christmas Day. If only I had a remote control for life with a big pause button to slow everything down for a bit just so I could savor all of the sights and sounds and scents.

But the true meaning of Christmas is for more than just December 25. Its still good after all those ornaments have been taken down and the tree put away for another year. It goes beyond December and into the new year and follows all the days of every year.

God has come near. As my pastor says often, Christianity isn’t that we can get to god but that God in Jesus has come to us. He didn’t wait until you and I got our acts cleaned up and made ourselves ready to receive the Incarnate. He came when we were in the middle of our biggest messes. He came when we needed a Savior the most.

Even after the shine wears off of those gifts, the best gift will still be that Emmanuel is still here. He has not left us and He never will. The hope of Christmas is the hope that will sustain us always.