The Road Goes Ever On and On

Happy (Late) Saint Patrick's Day!

I love the story of Saint Patrick.  There are lots of legends surrounding him, but his true story is fascinating enough.  Imagine, being kidnapped as a young teenager from England, made a slave in Ireland, left alone most of the year with your master's sheep in the wilderness, escaping after several years, and then going back because God called you to be a missionary to the country of your captivity.  You couldn't make this up.

One of the most famous Celtic Christain prayers is an old Irish eighth-century prayer called "Saint Patrick's Breatplate." In honor of Saint Patick, I'll share some of it below  (If you want the whole thing, you can find it here):

I rise today

in the power of Christ's birth and baptism,

in the power of his crucifixion and burial,

in the power of his rising and ascending,

in the power of his descending and judging.

I rise today

in heaven's might,

in sun's brightness,

in moon's radiance,

in fire's glory,

in lightning's quickness,

 in wind's swiftness,

in sea's depth,

in earth's stabiliy,

 in rock's fixity.

I rise today with the power of God to pilot me,

God's strenght to sustain me,

God's wisdom to guide me,

 God's eye to look ahead ofr me,

God's ear to hear me,

God's word to speak for me,

God's hand to protect me,

God's way before me,

God's shield to defend me,

God's host to deliver me,

    from snares of devils,

    from evil temptations,

    from nature's failings,

    from all who wish to harm me,

    far or near,

    alone and in a crowd. . .

 

 

 

Random Thoughts on New Year's Eve

Just wanted to share a few free-flowing ideas this New Year's Eve:

1.    Love the word "new."  New is good.  Have a bad day, tomorrow is another one.  Have a difficult year, tomorrow begins a new one.  It is SO like the grace of God.

2.    Love the seasons.  Don't know if I could live in California or Florida.  Change is good.

3.     Fall is my favorite season.  I love the feel of cool air on my cheek, the smell of wood smoke, hikes, and the blaze of color on the mountains.

4.    Our family burns a lot of wood in the winter.  It is a tradition to read or watch movies every evening in winter around the fireplace.

5.     Have you ever read out loud to your wife or kids around the fire?  Very cool if you can get the momentum going and leave the video games and TV off.  Start with something cool like The Hobbit.

6.    Having dogs in our family has been good for me.  I'd be a candidate for OCD if I didn't have them around to shed, get the floor dirty, and sleep on the couch. 

7.    Favorite joke of 2008:  Who appreciates you more, your dog or your spouse?  Lock them both in the trunk of your car for 1/2 an hour.  When you let them out, which one will still be happy to see you?

That's all.  Totally random.  Would love to hear your thoughts on the cusp of this new year.

Feelings are Meant to be Felt

Christmas day 2008 was very nice.  We were blessed, and everybody received what was on their lists(within reason).  I noticed my 10 year old was a little quiet when the gift opening was over.  I followed up with him later.  He was disappointed that it was all over so quickly.  It's hard to watch a little of the childhood magic wear off as your kids get older. 

At his point, his sister ragged him a little, saying it would make us (parents, the family) feel bad if he were sad on Christmas.  Wasn't he grateful?  How could you be sad on Christmas day?  At this point, I stepped in.

I explained to him that it is ok to be a little sad, even on Christmas.  If you are sad, you are sad.  Feel it and let it out.  I also told him as we get older, things change.  That's ok too.  He thought about that, and later that day seemed fine, even though I know Christmas won't ever be to him like it was when the magic was new.  And that is still ok.  It's ok to grieve leaving the childhood phase of Christmas, that the "stuff" doesn't make you happy.  Only then will he be free to embrace other aspects, like family, traditions, and  the significance of Christ's birth.  You can't move on to the next phase if you don't leave the previous one.  

Our culture doesn't always do well with feelings.  Think about what you are saying when you tell your child, "It's Christmas! You aren't sad!  Don't be silly!  Look at all these cool presents!"  What you are saying is that your feelings are illegitimate, that you don't know what to feel so let me tell you.  How confusing is that?  You feel what you feel.  Let it flow.  Otherwise, you bottle up stuff that should be let out, and end up living through a facade.  I don't want that for me and I don't want that for my children.

Unfortunately, my experience has also been that church is one of the worst places to be real.  I guess it happens wherever people assemble in numbers, including family gatherings and work.  We want to put our best foot forward.  But my dream is that in our families and at church we can let go of the expectations and facades. If people aren't feeling totally on their A-game one day, we have grace.  It's ok to have a bad day, to feel "off."  I for one don't want to pressure myself, my kids, my family, or my friends to label their feelings illegitimate and end up being pretenders.  Let's be real.  We can handle it.

A Wonderful Christmas Reminder

Kudos to Roger Edwards at The Barnabas Center who wrote the best piece on Christmas that I've read all season.  It is in their current newsletter, Christmas 2008, and is entitled, A Jolly, Generous Presence.  Their website won't have the current issue, but if you want to read it in full you can ask for their newsletter by signing up for it here.  

Roger speaks of finding out Santa wasn't real when he was 8 years old, and masterfully relates the change in him, leaving childhood mystery and becoming more factual.  Later, as he grows up, he begins to realize that "factual" may not be the best way of looking at the world.  Santa Claus is nothing if he is not a picture of the joyous, benevolent Creator God who made us and takes great delight in us (Zephaniah 3:17). 

What he rediscovered was the thrill of Christmas before he gave up his belief in Santa.  Yes, there really is someone at the top of the world thinking of me with good intentions and generosity!  I love this quote: "You must receive the Christ with sheer abandon.  You must rush headlong into Christmas morning with the full tilt of a child in footie pajamas.  You must trhow your arms apart to the mad thought that you have not been forgotten."

How easy it is to forget this in the frenzied pace of the holidays.  There may be no Santa, but there is One who looks upon you with great delight.  Allow the spirit of Christmas to make you young again.  "I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."  Mark 10:15

Giving Thanks

I like Thanksgiving.  It is a much calmer, saner holiday than Christmas.   Don't misunderstand; I love  Christmas.  But sometimes I feel overwhelmed by the schedule, the agenda, the spending, the frenzy of it all.  Thanksgiving just requires you to eat, rest and be thankful (unless you're the cook; thanks mom, Kosa and all the ladies who make it happen).  Well, I did help with the dishes.  But again, that was a good time where me and my brother talked while doing them. 

When I would hear Christmas music on the radio before Thanksgiving, my rebel side kicked in.  "No, not yet you don't" I would say as I changed the station.  Don't squeeze out Thanksgiving.  Yes, Christmas in a truly international holiday and Thanksgiving is purely American as far as holidays go.  But we all can be thankful, especially if you live in this country.  Maybe the 401k isn't looking too good.  The economy seems to be tanking and things are scary.  But I hope we can all agree that living in America on our worst days is much better than a lot of the rest of the world on their best days.  God has been good to us and we can be thankful.