- Three Cups of Tea//Greg Mortensen
Saw this book advertised in a USD Alum magazine and thought I'd check it out. I wasn't expecting to learn so much about Middle-eastern culture (and I didn't know I'd enjoy it so much). His stumbled-upon strategy of changing the future of children through education was very interesting. Definitely a must-read! - Kingdom of Couches//Will Walker
What does it look like to live out our faith in a community of believers? The author uses real-life examples to lead the reader down a path of seeing the importance of community in personal growth. Heard him speak at a Campus Crusade fall retreat during college about similar issues...good stuff. - Now and Not Yet//Jennifer Marshall
We live in a time of perpetual waiting. Jesus has come to set us free and give us abundant life, but we're still waiting to be truly free from sin and complete in Him. This book was written for single women in time of waiting, but I was surprised to find that it was really encouraging and helpful in other aspects of life, as well. - Jumping Through Fires//David Nasser
An auto-biography about a boy who grew up in Iran in a Muslim family and moved to America as a child. I identified a lot with his story about coming to faith in Christ and not always understanding the basics or doing things with the right motives. Short book, only 120ish pages, and also very funny and very easy to read. (The author is also one of the people who began the Glory Revealed music movement...very cool!) - Revolution in World Missions//KP Yohannan
Brother KP's story about raising up national missionaries in Asia was fascinating!! So fun to read about such a unique and strategic ministry. Deeply convicting, which made it tough to read...yet seeing how God has worked through KP's life made it hard to put down.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
2010 Book List - Highlights
In 2009 I joined a reading group with some friends and kept track of all the books I'd read that year. It was pretty fun to look back on the list at all the books I'd read and enjoyed, so I thought I'd try to come up with a list of books I read in 2010. Not an exhaustive list, but here are the highlights:
Friday, January 28, 2011
Another reminder about community
The lesson on independence continues (see previous post).
Today I received an e-mail from the National Director of MPD (Ministry Partner Development). He sends periodic updates to encourage and equip staff in raising their financial support. His e-mail today mentioned the normal human tendency to gravitate toward independence. But as believers, he writes, we are to intentionally move from independence to dependence, from isolation to community. Friends don't let friends do MPD alone.
Hebrews 10:24-25 (NIV) instructs us, “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
He goes on to explain this passage: "The writer acutely understands how vital it is to be connected with each other. Community creates a life-giving environment where we can push and encourage each other to persevere to do the right things. Acknowledging our need to be connected to others while working on our support empowers the discouraged and turns procrastination brought about by fear into courage. Joining together in community with others acts as a catalyst for ideas. It helps you reject the lies of the enemy and embrace the truths of God."
I hope this encourages you to consider how you can be involved in a life-giving community. More thoughts later on what this actually looks like.
Today I received an e-mail from the National Director of MPD (Ministry Partner Development). He sends periodic updates to encourage and equip staff in raising their financial support. His e-mail today mentioned the normal human tendency to gravitate toward independence. But as believers, he writes, we are to intentionally move from independence to dependence, from isolation to community. Friends don't let friends do MPD alone.
Hebrews 10:24-25 (NIV) instructs us, “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
He goes on to explain this passage: "The writer acutely understands how vital it is to be connected with each other. Community creates a life-giving environment where we can push and encourage each other to persevere to do the right things. Acknowledging our need to be connected to others while working on our support empowers the discouraged and turns procrastination brought about by fear into courage. Joining together in community with others acts as a catalyst for ideas. It helps you reject the lies of the enemy and embrace the truths of God."
I hope this encourages you to consider how you can be involved in a life-giving community. More thoughts later on what this actually looks like.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Broken Bootstraps
John and Henry broke my bootstraps this week- but it's actually a good thing.
Allow me to explain. I love old idioms, or cliches, or whatever they are technically called. "Pull yourself up by your bootstraps" is a classic. The meaning of this, if you care to know, is to improve your situation by your own efforts.
We all do that in many regards. I think it's one thing that parents teach their kids, and it's a good lesson to learn. In a way, it reminds me of the good ol' American Dream; you can make something of yourself, even if you aren't dealt the best hand of cards.
It's natural for me to feel this way. Last week at work we had a morning team meeting about the strengthsfinders test, and talked about what each of our strength themes mean and how we can use them to benefit the team.
Two of my themes are significance and individualization. In my life, both of them lead me to seek independence from others. I don't generally label myself as independent, but when learning about my natural inclinations via the strengths discussion, I saw them in a new light.
Last Sunday, my pastor mentioned the mission statement of the church, which reminded me of this whole bootstrap concept. New City Covenant seeks to provide an environment for transformation. This often happens with three things: connecting to God personally, connecting to God's people and connecting to God's purposes.
I've heard him say this before, but this week it really sunk in. I don't depend on other people. I've always thought this was a good, acceptable, appropriate, healthy thing.
John Townsend and Henry Cloud write about the very same thing in How People Grow. I've been working through this book as part of my new staff development at work. (Isn't it crazy when God uses many things to teach us the same lesson?)
So, I've been learning all about depending on people from John and Henry. The Body of believers that constitute the Church today has a unique role: to be Christ to people. This involves extending grace, supporting others, accepting them no matter what, but loving them enough not to let them stay that way.
To quote John and Henry exacting, "Biblical growth is designed to include other people as God's instruments. To be truly biblical as well as truly effective, the growth process must include the Body of Christ. Without the Body, the process is neither totally Biblical nor orthodox."
That's what New City is seeking to be when we talk about connecting with God's people in search of transformation. Something beautiful happens when you confess sin aloud to your friends and peers. When you're able to be honest with yourself about your struggles and honest with others, and when they respond with love and grace, you are able to experience it yourself. And that starts to bring about lasting change.
There's a lot more to discuss and think about in the realm of spiritual and personal growth than I'm covering here.
My goal in this is to show you that the picture of pulling yourself up by your bootstraps implies that you're going to lift yourself off the ground by your own effort. It won't work. You can try and try and try, but you probably won't have long-term progress, or grow like you will if you are able to rely on others to walk alongside you.
Allow me to explain. I love old idioms, or cliches, or whatever they are technically called. "Pull yourself up by your bootstraps" is a classic. The meaning of this, if you care to know, is to improve your situation by your own efforts.
We all do that in many regards. I think it's one thing that parents teach their kids, and it's a good lesson to learn. In a way, it reminds me of the good ol' American Dream; you can make something of yourself, even if you aren't dealt the best hand of cards.
It's natural for me to feel this way. Last week at work we had a morning team meeting about the strengthsfinders test, and talked about what each of our strength themes mean and how we can use them to benefit the team.
Two of my themes are significance and individualization. In my life, both of them lead me to seek independence from others. I don't generally label myself as independent, but when learning about my natural inclinations via the strengths discussion, I saw them in a new light.
Last Sunday, my pastor mentioned the mission statement of the church, which reminded me of this whole bootstrap concept. New City Covenant seeks to provide an environment for transformation. This often happens with three things: connecting to God personally, connecting to God's people and connecting to God's purposes.
I've heard him say this before, but this week it really sunk in. I don't depend on other people. I've always thought this was a good, acceptable, appropriate, healthy thing.
John Townsend and Henry Cloud write about the very same thing in How People Grow. I've been working through this book as part of my new staff development at work. (Isn't it crazy when God uses many things to teach us the same lesson?)
So, I've been learning all about depending on people from John and Henry. The Body of believers that constitute the Church today has a unique role: to be Christ to people. This involves extending grace, supporting others, accepting them no matter what, but loving them enough not to let them stay that way.
To quote John and Henry exacting, "Biblical growth is designed to include other people as God's instruments. To be truly biblical as well as truly effective, the growth process must include the Body of Christ. Without the Body, the process is neither totally Biblical nor orthodox."
That's what New City is seeking to be when we talk about connecting with God's people in search of transformation. Something beautiful happens when you confess sin aloud to your friends and peers. When you're able to be honest with yourself about your struggles and honest with others, and when they respond with love and grace, you are able to experience it yourself. And that starts to bring about lasting change.
There's a lot more to discuss and think about in the realm of spiritual and personal growth than I'm covering here.
My goal in this is to show you that the picture of pulling yourself up by your bootstraps implies that you're going to lift yourself off the ground by your own effort. It won't work. You can try and try and try, but you probably won't have long-term progress, or grow like you will if you are able to rely on others to walk alongside you.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Let the Nations Be Glad
I just finished reading John Piper's article Let the Nations Be Glad for the first time. I am really jazzed!! That could be the caffeine kicking in, but I think it's probably the truth in Piper's writing.
If you've never read it, check it out. I highly recommend it.
More thoughts to come :)
If you've never read it, check it out. I highly recommend it.
More thoughts to come :)
Friday, January 21, 2011
a changing perspective
I started my Perspectives class on Monday this week. It's a non-denom parachurch ministry (like CCC) of the US Center for World Missions. Before the class, I thought of it as a 16 week history of missions and God's work in the world.
After just one night, it's obvious that it's more than a class. The emphasis on finding your niche in God's overall purpose for the world was refreshing and encouraging. I'm already pretty passionate about that, but it's nice to gain direction in finding it for yourself. I think I'd like to help others find out how they fit into God's plan for the nations.
The first night featured the Pastor from Hope Community Church, (which is where the class is meeting). He introduced the night by sharing a list of his favorite movies (the Sixth Sense, the Prestige, to name a few) and why he likes them: the big twist at the end makes you want to re-watch the movie. It casts a different light on everything in the plot.
He proceeded to take us from Revelation to Genesis, showing us that reading the OT in light of knowing the big twist makes certain things very important. We spent a ton of time in Acts and Romans, two books I've read a lot but never dig into very deeply. One thread he pointed out really struck me: the curse. Here's the journey we made:
Revelation 22:3
No longer will there be any curse...
Galatians 4:4-5
God sent forth his Son...born under the law...to redeem those who were under the law...
Galatians 3:13
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree."
Acts 5:30
The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree.
Daniel 9:11
All Israel has transgressed your law and turned aside, refusing to obey your voice. And the curse and oath that are written in the Law of Moses the servant of God have been poured out upon us, because we have sinned against him.
Deuteronomy 21:23
...his body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall bury him the same day, for a hanged man is cursed by God. You shall not defile your land that the LORD your God is giving you for an inheritance.
I think there were more verses, but you get the idea. Pretty neat! Can't wait for next week.
After just one night, it's obvious that it's more than a class. The emphasis on finding your niche in God's overall purpose for the world was refreshing and encouraging. I'm already pretty passionate about that, but it's nice to gain direction in finding it for yourself. I think I'd like to help others find out how they fit into God's plan for the nations.
The first night featured the Pastor from Hope Community Church, (which is where the class is meeting). He introduced the night by sharing a list of his favorite movies (the Sixth Sense, the Prestige, to name a few) and why he likes them: the big twist at the end makes you want to re-watch the movie. It casts a different light on everything in the plot.
He proceeded to take us from Revelation to Genesis, showing us that reading the OT in light of knowing the big twist makes certain things very important. We spent a ton of time in Acts and Romans, two books I've read a lot but never dig into very deeply. One thread he pointed out really struck me: the curse. Here's the journey we made:
Revelation 22:3
No longer will there be any curse...
Galatians 4:4-5
God sent forth his Son...born under the law...to redeem those who were under the law...
Galatians 3:13
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree."
Acts 5:30
The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree.
Daniel 9:11
All Israel has transgressed your law and turned aside, refusing to obey your voice. And the curse and oath that are written in the Law of Moses the servant of God have been poured out upon us, because we have sinned against him.
Deuteronomy 21:23
...his body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall bury him the same day, for a hanged man is cursed by God. You shall not defile your land that the LORD your God is giving you for an inheritance.
I think there were more verses, but you get the idea. Pretty neat! Can't wait for next week.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Old info in a new light
This morning, the Ops team met to discuss something I love...
...strengthsfinders!
(picture me saying YES! with a fist pump, and you have an accurate description of my reaction to finding out what we were covering in our meeting). (If you don't know what Strengthsfinders is, click here for an overview. It's the concept that each of us has themes in our lives that are so innate, we may not notice them or think about them. But by learning about them and honing them, they can become incredible strengths).
We did a variety of individual and group exercises to help us better understand how our strengths can work for us, how they work for others, and how they may even work against us.
It wasn't just learning what out strengths were or explaining them; this was serious stuff. Totally insightful. I finally met someone who also has the individualization theme (seeing unique characteristics in others, how people work together on a team, etc), which was really helpful. I'm still not totally sure how I can utilize that theme in my current job or in my personal life, but I have a few tracks to run on now.
The other interesting exercise we did was try to relate all of our strengths together, which was a challenge at first. After some help, I came up with this:
Amy, the human coin machine
1. Input: The coins (information/data) are collected.
2. Analytical: The coins are organized and analyzed.
3. Individualization: The coins are sorted into categories.
4. Significance: The coins are deemed important, less important, etc.
5. Strategic: A decision is made as to what we could do with the coins that would be best for the long-term.
That's the best I could come up with, but I'm open to suggestions :)
Watch for a follow-up post from this as to how my strengths might be of help in decoding a campus.
...strengthsfinders!
(picture me saying YES! with a fist pump, and you have an accurate description of my reaction to finding out what we were covering in our meeting). (If you don't know what Strengthsfinders is, click here for an overview. It's the concept that each of us has themes in our lives that are so innate, we may not notice them or think about them. But by learning about them and honing them, they can become incredible strengths).
We did a variety of individual and group exercises to help us better understand how our strengths can work for us, how they work for others, and how they may even work against us.
It wasn't just learning what out strengths were or explaining them; this was serious stuff. Totally insightful. I finally met someone who also has the individualization theme (seeing unique characteristics in others, how people work together on a team, etc), which was really helpful. I'm still not totally sure how I can utilize that theme in my current job or in my personal life, but I have a few tracks to run on now.
The other interesting exercise we did was try to relate all of our strengths together, which was a challenge at first. After some help, I came up with this:
Amy, the human coin machine
1. Input: The coins (information/data) are collected.
2. Analytical: The coins are organized and analyzed.
3. Individualization: The coins are sorted into categories.
4. Significance: The coins are deemed important, less important, etc.
5. Strategic: A decision is made as to what we could do with the coins that would be best for the long-term.
That's the best I could come up with, but I'm open to suggestions :)
Watch for a follow-up post from this as to how my strengths might be of help in decoding a campus.
Friday, January 14, 2011
Initiating.
"You just sat down at 11:11am on 1/11/11."
I looked over at the guy next to me, who showed me the clock on his phone. "That's so crazy!" He exclaimed, shaking his head. I thought to myself, who IS this guy?
I happen to love significant numerical moments, like 1:23pm on 4/5/06. That was a great moment. When someone recognizes one of these moments, I feel an instant bond with them.
I had just boarded the plane, flying back to Minneapolis from Dallas last week. Conversation continued to flow between this guy, who I'll call Andy, because he reminded me of Andy Bernard from The Office.
I've always wanted to share the Gospel with someone on an airplane. Bill Bright did it, after all. And I've heard a lot of big-name speakers tell stories about doing it. You've got this person in very close proximity to you, who can't leave, and it's kind of awkward if you don't talk about anything at all.
Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to share my faith with Andy. Mainly because I wasn't able to come up with a single simple, nonchalant segue into my faith, and never felt a prompting to go there.
There are moments in some conversations from which you can easily transition into a spiritual topic. Sometimes, there aren't those moments. What do you do then? Do you just bring it up anyway?
I was definitely thinking about bringing it up. He shared with me that he'd just gone through a divorce and had flown back to Dallas for a custody hearing with his ex-wife. I felt for him in his tough situation, and probably could/should have offered some comforting or hopeful or encouraging words. I couldn't think of anything in the moment.
I'm not very good at initiating conversations, let alone spiritual ones. Maybe whipping out the KGP in this conversation wouldn't have been appropriate. But I think taking the initiative to share the hope I have in Christ with someone, even when there's no clear segue, is totally fine.
Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone." -Colossians 4:5-6
I looked over at the guy next to me, who showed me the clock on his phone. "That's so crazy!" He exclaimed, shaking his head. I thought to myself, who IS this guy?
I happen to love significant numerical moments, like 1:23pm on 4/5/06. That was a great moment. When someone recognizes one of these moments, I feel an instant bond with them.
I had just boarded the plane, flying back to Minneapolis from Dallas last week. Conversation continued to flow between this guy, who I'll call Andy, because he reminded me of Andy Bernard from The Office.
I've always wanted to share the Gospel with someone on an airplane. Bill Bright did it, after all. And I've heard a lot of big-name speakers tell stories about doing it. You've got this person in very close proximity to you, who can't leave, and it's kind of awkward if you don't talk about anything at all.
Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to share my faith with Andy. Mainly because I wasn't able to come up with a single simple, nonchalant segue into my faith, and never felt a prompting to go there.
There are moments in some conversations from which you can easily transition into a spiritual topic. Sometimes, there aren't those moments. What do you do then? Do you just bring it up anyway?
I was definitely thinking about bringing it up. He shared with me that he'd just gone through a divorce and had flown back to Dallas for a custody hearing with his ex-wife. I felt for him in his tough situation, and probably could/should have offered some comforting or hopeful or encouraging words. I couldn't think of anything in the moment.
I'm not very good at initiating conversations, let alone spiritual ones. Maybe whipping out the KGP in this conversation wouldn't have been appropriate. But I think taking the initiative to share the hope I have in Christ with someone, even when there's no clear segue, is totally fine.
Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone." -Colossians 4:5-6
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
A typical day in the office
I wrote this pre-TCX so you'd have a basic run-down of a typical Tuesday for me in the regional office:
7:20 am - leave my apartment to travel the 5 miles to the office
7:45 am - arrive at the office
7:47 am - boot up my computer to answer e-mails and prep for the staff meeting
9:00 am - Operations Staff Team Meeting
Everyone usually eats together at the lunch tables, where we eventually end up talking about food and sports. This particular day we talked about bacon, meat sweats (specifically at Brazillian barbeque joints), then bacon-laced foods, and football.
1235pm - Ignore my desire to take a nap at my desk and start to work on the program booklet for TCX (a 32 half-page booklet with information about speakers, schedule, seminars, ministry opportunities, meeting rooms, etc).
3pm - Coaching meeting w/Steve, the Director of the Ops Team
330pm - impromptu chat about coffee with my office-mates
337pm - back to my cubical to answer more e-mails
358pm - start to pack up to head home for the day
415pm - one last check of the e-mail before I shut off the computer...
421pm - and leave for the day!
Most days follow this basic format. I'm usually in the office between 730-8am and leave between 4-5pm (thereby missing most of the bad traffic!) We have office-wide prayer every Tues, Wed, Thurs which I really enjoy. It's fun to hear updates about and pray for the campus teams around the region and the world.
7:20 am - leave my apartment to travel the 5 miles to the office
7:45 am - arrive at the office
7:47 am - boot up my computer to answer e-mails and prep for the staff meeting
9:00 am - Operations Staff Team Meeting
- Devotional
- Personal MPD update in small groups, and Prayer
- Talked through TCX Logistics
- Talked about recruiting Ops students at TCX through our first-ever job shadow opportunity
- Iowa Campuses and Teams
- Our long-term teams in the Middle East
Everyone usually eats together at the lunch tables, where we eventually end up talking about food and sports. This particular day we talked about bacon, meat sweats (specifically at Brazillian barbeque joints), then bacon-laced foods, and football.
1235pm - Ignore my desire to take a nap at my desk and start to work on the program booklet for TCX (a 32 half-page booklet with information about speakers, schedule, seminars, ministry opportunities, meeting rooms, etc).
3pm - Coaching meeting w/Steve, the Director of the Ops Team
330pm - impromptu chat about coffee with my office-mates
337pm - back to my cubical to answer more e-mails
358pm - start to pack up to head home for the day
415pm - one last check of the e-mail before I shut off the computer...
421pm - and leave for the day!
Most days follow this basic format. I'm usually in the office between 730-8am and leave between 4-5pm (thereby missing most of the bad traffic!) We have office-wide prayer every Tues, Wed, Thurs which I really enjoy. It's fun to hear updates about and pray for the campus teams around the region and the world.
Thursday, January 06, 2011
Planes, Trains and Automobiles
...or in my case- car, skyway, on foot, light rail, tram, plane, bus, van!
Today I left the bitter cold and snow of Minneapolis for sunny, warm Dallas, TX! Once a year, all the directors of all the summer missions projects in the whole US campus ministry get together for training (appropriately called Summer Project Directors Training - SPDT, since CCC likes acronyms so much).
Most of the people here are leading a summer project, or handling all of the operations for each project. Technically, I'm doing neither; I'll be coordinating the international summer projects for the midwest, specifically in terms of operations. Basically I'll be coaching the project leaders and operations people. Tomorrow all the operations people like me will gather for training, and then all the directors will arrive Friday and Saturday. I'm excited to finally see how the pieces fit together concerning summer project!
Most of the people here are leading a summer project, or handling all of the operations for each project. Technically, I'm doing neither; I'll be coordinating the international summer projects for the midwest, specifically in terms of operations. Basically I'll be coaching the project leaders and operations people. Tomorrow all the operations people like me will gather for training, and then all the directors will arrive Friday and Saturday. I'm excited to finally see how the pieces fit together concerning summer project!
I had to laugh to myself as the plane was landing at DFW...I had quite the journey! It started off at 1030am, as I left my apartment in my car. 30 minutes and 5 miles later, (which is normal commute time) I was downtown Minneapolis, where I was able to park my car in a remote airport parking ramp for only $20 for 5 days. Unheard of! (Parking at the airport has to be at least $75 for 5 days. Since it's winter I couldn't leave my car in my apartment parking lot or on the street, as I'd get towed if they needed to remove snow).
I walked a block or two in the skyway from the ramp, heaved my huge suitcase down 3 flights in a sketchy cement stairwell, and hightailed it another two blocks outside to the lightrail station. I just missed the train so I had to wait about 8 minutes for the next one in 10 degree weather. Of course, I didn't wear my winter coat or boots because I was heading to Dallas where I wouldn't need them. But I survived :)
After a 30 minute ride on the light rail, I took a 1 minute tram ride at the airport to get to my gate. No full body scan or pat down for me, (though I am quite intrigued by the scanners).
The non-stop flight to Dallas was cheap (traveling Thursday-Tuesday is so nice!) and uneventful. From the baggage claim at DFW, I hopped on a 15 minute bus ride to the other side of the airport to catch my free van to the hotel downtown.
Door-to-door, the trip took 8.5 hours...a full days' work! No wonder I'm ready for bed at 930pm. Looking forward to posting more about the conference once it gets up and running. Pray I'll be able to retain all the information that will be thrown at me in the next 4 days! :)
I walked a block or two in the skyway from the ramp, heaved my huge suitcase down 3 flights in a sketchy cement stairwell, and hightailed it another two blocks outside to the lightrail station. I just missed the train so I had to wait about 8 minutes for the next one in 10 degree weather. Of course, I didn't wear my winter coat or boots because I was heading to Dallas where I wouldn't need them. But I survived :)
After a 30 minute ride on the light rail, I took a 1 minute tram ride at the airport to get to my gate. No full body scan or pat down for me, (though I am quite intrigued by the scanners).
The non-stop flight to Dallas was cheap (traveling Thursday-Tuesday is so nice!) and uneventful. From the baggage claim at DFW, I hopped on a 15 minute bus ride to the other side of the airport to catch my free van to the hotel downtown.
Door-to-door, the trip took 8.5 hours...a full days' work! No wonder I'm ready for bed at 930pm. Looking forward to posting more about the conference once it gets up and running. Pray I'll be able to retain all the information that will be thrown at me in the next 4 days! :)
Sunday, January 02, 2011
Redeeming Christmas
I'm a little late for a Christmas post this year. With finishing up my support, reporting to the office, and preparing for TCX, the holiday kind snuck up on me!
Before I could even enjoy a couple Christmas CD's, or hang the few decorations I own, the 25th was here and gone. And despite the busyness, God brought a few encouraging words my way.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining-
til He appeared and the soul felt its' worth.
I sigh every time I hear that line. I've been struggling with my despise of Christmas for several years. This song isn't just about the birth of Jesus. It's about the redemption of mankind. Every year, the latter gets lost in the Christmas hustle and bustle.
What's Christmas about? Loving, giving, receiving, joy...everyone has their own opinion. Christians are quick to say that Christmas is about the birth of Jesus. But even that pat answer, with no explanation, falls short.
There are signs in each of our lives, all year long, that God desires to be present in our lives. We miss that at Christmas, which is sad, because it's one of the most important times of the year for mankind to see their need for and chance at redemption.
It's ironic that TCX follows two days later. Throughout December I try to work through this angst about Christmas, but by the end of the month, my mixed feelings are pushed away. I'm finally able to see people realizing the very thing that becomes hidden during the Christmas season. The meaning may get lost in the production of Christmas, but it's uncovered in the production of TCX.
Before I could even enjoy a couple Christmas CD's, or hang the few decorations I own, the 25th was here and gone. And despite the busyness, God brought a few encouraging words my way.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining-
til He appeared and the soul felt its' worth.
I sigh every time I hear that line. I've been struggling with my despise of Christmas for several years. This song isn't just about the birth of Jesus. It's about the redemption of mankind. Every year, the latter gets lost in the Christmas hustle and bustle.
What's Christmas about? Loving, giving, receiving, joy...everyone has their own opinion. Christians are quick to say that Christmas is about the birth of Jesus. But even that pat answer, with no explanation, falls short.
There are signs in each of our lives, all year long, that God desires to be present in our lives. We miss that at Christmas, which is sad, because it's one of the most important times of the year for mankind to see their need for and chance at redemption.
It's ironic that TCX follows two days later. Throughout December I try to work through this angst about Christmas, but by the end of the month, my mixed feelings are pushed away. I'm finally able to see people realizing the very thing that becomes hidden during the Christmas season. The meaning may get lost in the production of Christmas, but it's uncovered in the production of TCX.
- Truly He taught us to love one another;
- His law is love and His gospel is peace.
- Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother;
- And in His name all oppression shall cease.
- Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
- Let all within us praise His holy name.