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.

On My Knees

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.

So sad

Every day it seems like there's at least one small moment when I whisper to myself, "I can't wait for the all the sadness in the world to be gone."  "I can't wait for all the broken things of the world to be fixed and made whole."  "I can't wait for complete goodness and rightness."

In recent days, however, those thoughts have become much more than one small whisper-to-myself-moment.  It's the constant thread.  I can't stop thinking about it.  I can't stop longing for the tears to be wiped away.  I can't stop longing for the liberation of enslaved girls.  I can't stop longing for goodness to reign.  For evil to be condemned and punished.  For unfilled dreams to finally be realized and fulfilled.  For the lame to walk and dance and jump.  For the mute to talk and yell and sing.  For the blind to see and behold the greatest glory of all.  For the deaf to hear the most beautiful words ever spoken.  For broken hearts to flow with life again.

Dreams I have dreamed.  They will go empty.  Visions I've had.  They'll never be fulfilled.

Hearts that should work.  And they don't.
Some of my dearest friends in the world, Ben and Shaina, with a 3 month old baby.  With a heart that's not working like it should.  It was created to bring life.  To sustain life.  Her name is Chaia, which is Hebrew for LIFE.  She should have life.

But, in this world, death and poison and unrightness and weeping and "not supposed to be this way's" have tainted and twisted.

Dreams unfulfilled are a letdown.
Hearts don't work like they should.

And it's sad.  I feel sad for the way things are.
I feel sad for the mess and poison my own hands have created in this world.

I am sad.
All I can do is hope.  This world makes me sad.  There's not much hope for a better tomorrow here.  It keeps getting worse.  The days keep getting darker.  And the sadness drives deeper.

I don't hope in today.  I can't find hope in tomorrow.

But faith is saving the world.  Faith in a King.  in a Good King.  in a King who will reign with goodness.  with justice.  and grace.  and sweetness.  in a King who has power.  in a King who loves.

in a King who makes the dead hearts beat again.  who unlocks the shackles on the feet of women in the brothel.  who feeds the greatest feast ever to tent city.  who hugs the fatherless.  who gently lays a hand on the beaten.

I'm longing for the King's return.
But in the meantime, may faith be the hope offered to the world.  Faith is beautifying the world.


Chaia Update from Wadsworth UMC on Vimeo.

Chaia is a warrior.  Her parents are heros.  God is saving the day.

Kick off

It seems like, for me, blogging comes in seasons.  Fall, winter, and spring -- I'm full of thoughts and stories to share.  Summer, however, the ol' blogspot is hardly an open tab on the computer.

But as summer fades to fall, it seems Wags' seasonal blogging days are ahead of her.

To kick off such a season, there could be no more appropriate video.  Enjoy:

And may the countdown to Saturday noon begin...

Colorado rendezvous

2 weeks in Colorado looks a little something like this:

my summer has felt a bit like this: