Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Saturday, November 26, 2011

O-H...I-O!!

Now, I know this is a little dramatic...but in the spirit of today:

And, for sheer hilarity factor:

Friday, November 25, 2011

Waiting for Christmas

Ever since I understood what Advent meant, I look forward to the coming of it every season.

You see, I didn't really grow up going to church.  And when I did find myself in a church pew, I was checked out -- thinking about how I could beat my brother in Tetris, or the boy I wanted to date, or about how I thought religion was painfully boring.  I remember seeing people light Advent candles from time-to-time but I had no idea what they meant or why they had any real relevance to my life.

Since I decided to follow Jesus -- to trust him and believe him -- Advent seems to have taken on much greater significance in my life.

Advent is the season of waiting.

In short, the world was waiting for a king.  The Jewish people, specifically.  The Jews were under harsh Roman rule and things seemed dismal.  Things seemed broken and they were waiting for someone to come fix them.  They believed God had promised them a king (a "Messiah")...so they waited.

And he came.  The king, this promised Messiah, came.  This was Jesus.
(He was a little bit of a different king than they expected, to be honest, though.  They expected a king to rule with majesty and power and a throne and maybe even some superiority.  Instead, however, he was a king who came in humility, and grace, and obscene forgiveness.  But, that's besides the point, I digress).

But, before he came, in the waiting, the Jews had a choice: "will we trust what God has said?  or will we not trust what God has said?  Will we believe this king will really come as God promised or will we not believe?"

I relate.  I face the same question daily:
will I trust God or will I not trust what God has said?

So, with that, I enter into the season of Advent.  Enter into the season of waiting.  Enter into choosing to trust or not trust God with what He's said.

So, I don't know who you are reading this blog.  I don't know what you consider yourself to be -- a follower of Christ (like myself), a skeptic of all religion, a seeker of things that are true and satisfying for your life, a "how-could-this-ever-be-relevant-to-my-life?" wonderer, or maybe simply a lover of the Christmas season, etc.  But whoever you are, wherever you're at, whatever you believe, I simply want to invite you to join me this Advent season.  Join me in asking the question, "will I trust what God has said or will I not?"  Join me in a plan to read a small piece of the Bible once a day between now and Christmas.  What is that -- like 10 minutes a day, 30 days or something?  Child's play...easy peasy.

This is the plan I'll be following.  Join me in the same plan if you'd like.

I'll be blogging along the way.  Reading the Bible is much more fun when done together.  I'd love to hear your thoughts if you decide to join with me in this.

Thursday, November 3, 2011

This is Not the End

A glimpse into my latest obsession:


My soul finds hope in the things to come.  In the making of all things right, of all things new, of all things in the just-how-they-were-supposed-to-be.   My soul finds rest in the Lord.