WAIT

found here at ben bell's website. (the fine print says "the arrival of something important or awaited")

I love the posting on this signal that says "cross with care"...it makes me feel as if someone is watching out for me - as i wait in the darkness for a sign....
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If I say, “Surely the darkness will cover me, and the light around me turn to night,” darkness is not dark to you, O Lord; the night is as bright as the day; darkness and light to you are both alike. Psalm 139:10-11

Happy St. Nick's Day!

Today is St. Nicholas' Feast Day. On the night before, children polish & place their shoes outside their front door in hopes that St. Nicholas will arrive during the night to fill them with small presents such as candy, and fruit and nuts. (This is where having big feet would be a plus!) So did you check outside your door today?

Thank you Father for your

servant Nicholas,
who brought joy to children.

Put into our hearts the spirit

of childhood

about which your Son spoke.

Teach us how to sow

happiness & joy around us. Amen.

Sense of God's Timing

O God of all seasons and senses, grant us the sense of your timing to submit gracefully and rejoice quietly

in the turn of the seasons.

In this season of short days and long nights,

of grey and white and cold,

teach us the lessons of endings;

grieving over,

grudges over,

blaming over,

excuses over.

children growing, friends leaving, loved ones dying,

O God, grant us a sense of your timing.

In this season of short days and long nights,

of grey and white and cold,

teach us the lessons of beginnings;

that such waitings and endings

may be the starting place,

a planting of seeds which bring to birth what is ready to be born—

something right and just and different,

a new song, a deeper relationship,

a fuller love—in the fullness of your time.

O God, grant us the sense of your timing.

Ted Loder, Guerillas of Grace. found here

Rewards!

Today I received an email from Office Depot with the title "Reward Status". Upon opening it I saw these big, bold, red words: YOU ARE ON YOUR WAY TO REWARDS! Ooohhh....Tell me more! "You need $7.79 in Rewards to receive a Reward card." Ok...but what will my reward be? I scrolled down to see that my current "reward" amount after spending another $7.79 will be $2.21! LOL.

So I have to spend more to get a smaller reward? I don't think so! I want a bigger reward! There, I said it. What makes me think/believe/expect a reward? Perhaps this all started as a kid when I knew there would always be a toy surprise in my Cracker Jacks? (and btw, as an adult white female, I'm now feeling a tad uncomfortable with the name of this product.) And yet, I know this sense of entitlement runs much deeper.

Does spending money at a box store qualify me for a reward? Has the idea of receiving a reward lost its value? After all, isn't a reward something given in return for something accomplished? I seem to be walking around with a "She Who Must be Rewarded" bumper sticker plastered across the back of my head.

And do I not expect God to reward me? Scripture is filled with reward scenarios... James & John wanted to know what Jesus was going to do for them in Heaven, and the parables of Christ are filled with talk of rewards - all of which brings me back to Advent...

Our ultimate reward is coming...we must continue in this waiting process....and it won't be like anything a candy company's marketing team could design - it won't be flashy, there won't be any fanfare - just a child, born in a stinky barn to an unwed teen....bringing with Him the greatest reward of all - Himself!

p.s. i used a photo of cracker jacks because a picture of office depot just wasn't that exciting:)

Blue Forest

Lord Jesus, Master of both the light and the darkness, send your Holy Spirit upon our preparations for Christmas.

We who have so much to do seek quiet spaces to hear your voice each day.

We who are anxious over many things look forward to your coming among us.

We who are blessed in so many ways long for the complete joy of your kingdom.

We whose hearts are heavy seek the joy of your presence.
We are your people, walking in darkness, yet seeking the light.

To you we say, “Come Lord Jesus!” - Henri Nouwen

St. Andrew's High School

Yesterday was the feast of St. Andrew - and since I graduated from St. Andrew's High School in Pasadena, California I couldn't let that one go by without giving a shout out to my fellow "Atoms" - and yes that was our mascot....no cougars, wolfs or bears....just your basic molecular structure....did we rock or what?

This is a photo of the church which is across the street from the school. Stunning! And the inside is even better!

So what does this have to do with Advent you ask? Well on my "Slow down it's Advent" calendar it says "St. Andrew dropped his nets and followed Jesus. What do you need to let go of in order to follow?"

AIDS & Advent

Today is World AIDS Day. A time to focus on suffering around the globe. And here we find ourselves in the first week of Advent - a time of waiting for Christ to come - a time of wondering what God is calling us to in this season. I have Good News! We need not wonder any longer! We are called to Love! I know this photo of a man dying of AIDS on a street in Bangladesh is disturbing but I need to be roused from my complacency. After a wonderful Thanksgiving, and time spent Christmas shopping with my daughter. After whining about having to cut back on my spending this year, I look at this photo and it stops me...

As he waits for someone to help him.
As we worry about our dwindling 401K's.
As he calls out to God.
As we trample one another to get into stores to purchase bigger TV's.
As he despairs.
As we wait for what?
What is God calling us to?
LOVE...

"World AIDS Day, which we acknowledge on December 1st, is not another insertion into our liturgies of a cause we might make a contribution to. Rather, it is the invitation from millions of suffering people around the world to wade into the messiness of their annihilation, waters where Grace pulls us under our competency, breaks the surface of our sufficiency, and bites us on the ass of our assurance. Most all that remains after Grace has her way with us is one another, which is more than we have going for us on the shore."
The Rev. William Blaine-Wallace, rector of Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Boston, Mass.