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Posts from the ‘Christmas’ Category

Dec 22

Plant Peace

“The most valuable possession you can own is an open heart. The most powerful weapon you can be is an instrument of peace.” – Carlos Santana

“Wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for a kindness.” – Lucius Annaeus Seneca

As the waiting, preparation and anticipation of Advent comes to its last few days, may Christmas be born in all hearts and poured out in actions. Love yourself so you can properly love others. Without condition, counting or delay, start from a place of love and be an instrument that builds, creates, enlivens and carries kindness and light into a chaotic undeserving world. In little things, great things bloom. Plant seeds of peace and love, grow joy and awe.

Prayer of St. Francis

“Lord make Me an instrument of Your peace
Where there is hatred let me sow love.
Where there is injury, pardon.
Where there is doubt, faith.
Where there is despair, hope.
Where there is darkness, light.
Where there is sadness joy.
O Divine master grant that I may
Not so much seek to be consoled as to console
To be understood, as to understand.
To be loved. as to love
For it’s in giving that we receive
And it’s in pardoning that we are pardoned
And it’s in dying that we are born…
To eternal life.”

Peace. Love. Pardon. Faith. Hope. Light. Joy.
To you today and in the magical miraculous days ahead as Christmas comes to change our hearts and, in turn, the world.
An instrument of peace. A powerful weapon.

Dec 20

Shape of Your Soul

“Nature is the direct expression of the divine imagination.” – John O’Donohue

“May you realize that the shape of your soul is unique, that you have a special destiny here, that behind the facade of your life there is something beautiful, good, and eternal happening. May you learn to see yourself with the same delight, pride, and expectation with which God sees you in every moment.” – John O’Donohue

Steeped and anchored.
Free, defying gravity.
Dancing and poetry.
Grounding and embracing.
Knowing and mystery.
Wide and deep.
Intuition and clarity.
Beyond, above, below and all encompassing.

May you enter your soul space daily to rest in awe, held in delight.
The heart of your purpose and beauty of your being.
Defined by God, not others or self.
Never confine or define God on human terms.
Too too small.
The expanse of the sky, the depth of the ocean. Perhaps, yet still so much more.
Undefinable and familiar at the same time.
Accept the unknowing and enter the expanse.
Beauty. Goodness. Shelter.
Soul work.

“All through your life your soul takes care of you…your soul is alive and awakened, gathering, sheltering and guiding your ways and days in the world. In effect, your soul is your secret shelter.” – John O’Donohue

Dec 17

Final Steps to the Finish Line

“Your sacred space is where you can find yourself again and again.” – Joseph Campbell

A week from today is Christmas Eve. The hustle and hurry to get the last gifts, preparing for gatherings, wrapping up work for the year, rushing to the finish line. Don’t let these last steps get lost in the chaos, missing the gifts of Advent waiting, reflection, beauty and transformation.

Our lives are more than headlines. Get into the sentence structure of your story. The beginning, middle and end, noticing how the narrative weaves together. In the nouns, verbs, prepositions. In the commas, semicolons and periods. In the paragraphs breaks, transitions and in the final paragraph that sums it all up to create meaning and foster growth.

Dwell in the full Christmas season and story. Still, calm, quiet. Oh, Holy Night and all the days that lead there. Find your sacred space in it all.

a blessing for a chaotic season by Kate Bowler

“blessed are we, the fearful. though we long to be people of peace, we can’t lie

we are afraid.

afraid there wont’ be enough – enough resources, enough time, enough memories.

blessed are we who ask You for wisdom, show us what to turn from, what to set aside.

come Lord, that we might see you, move with You, keep pace with You.

blessed are we who ask that this Advent we might dwell together quietly in our homes.

come Lord, that we might be for others the peace they cannot give.

blessed are we who look to You and say God, truly, we are troubled and afraid. come govern our hearts and calm our fears.

Oh Prince of Peace, still our restless selves, calm our anxious hearts, quiet our busy minds.”

 

Dec 1

Ropes, Ladders and Tunnels

“The magnificent cosmos is a palace that has the sun and the moon as its lamps and the stars as its candles; time is like a rope or ribbon hung within it, on to which the Glorious Creator each year threads a new world.” – Said Nursi

“Darkness comes. In the middle of it, the future looks blank. The temptation to quit is huge. Don’t. You are in good company… You will argue with yourself that there is no way forward. But with God, nothing is impossible. He has more ropes and ladders and tunnels out of pits than you can conceive. Wait. Pray without ceasing. Hope.” – John Piper

You can be both optimistic and realistic.
Seeking, hunting without ceasing for light in the darkness.
Flowers and weeds.
They coexist.

As we begin the last month of the year and begin to make “plans” for 2022, do not forego these final days.
Do not forgo any days of the year.
This time of Advent to Christmas holds both celebration and struggle.
They coexist.

Amidst all of the seasons of Advent in life, there is joy to be found in the waiting, wandering and wondering.
And in the searching and seeking, the finding begins in the process itself, not in the arrival.
Take hold of the ropes, ladders and tunnels.
Protest for hope.

Light remains so seek it and allow it to come to and through you.
You may be the rope, ladder or tunnel someone needs today.

a blessing for the advent of hope by Kate Bowler

“o God, these are darkening days, with little hope in sight. o God, help us in our fear and desperation. anchor us in hope!

‘let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.’ —John 14:1

blessed are we with eyes open to see the accumulated suffering of danger, sickness and loneliness,

the injustice of racial oppression, the unimpeded greed and misuse of power, violence, intimidation, and use of dominance for its own sake,

the mockery of truth, and disdain for weakness or vulnerability—and worse the seeming powerlessness of anyone trying to stop it.

blessed are we who ask: where are you God? and where are Your people— the smart and sensible ones who fight for good and have the power to make it stick?

blessed are we who cry out: o God, why does the bad always seem to win? when will good prevail? o God we trust You, for we know You and love You.

for You o Lord, are the One who seeks out the helpless, lifts them on Your shoulders, and carries them home no matter how broken they are, or what wrong they have done.

o God, seek us out, and find us, we your helpless people, and lead us out to where hope lies where your kingdom will come and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. for You are the anchor dropped into the future —our future.

open your hands as you release your prayers. then take hold of hope. as protest.”

 

Nov 28

27 Days

“The word advent means ‘expectation’. What advent can do for us is create a sense of hope.” – Louie Giglio

“Into this world, this demented inn in which there is absolutely no room for him at all, Christ comes uninvited.” – Thomas Merton.

Today marks the first day of Advent. The season of waiting, anticipation, hope. Amidst two years of an ongoing pandemic, politicization and polarization, allow this season to do its work in you, in all of us.

Author and historian Kate Bowler is offering a free 4-Week Advent Devotional – the season of almost. Daily readings to ignite color in winter, instill hope in the weariness of an ongoing pandemic and prompt reflection to give deeper meaning beyond the season.

I noticed a sign in my neighbor’s yard yesterday “Never Give Up.” Amen. We all need that simple and profound reminder to keep going and of our resilience and strength, hidden beneath frustration and disappointment. While this collective journey has been long, we will get through it, changed to be sure. And in the midst of the waiting, we need no permission nor approval to invite joy, peace and light in to make the journey holy and sacred.

“The season of Advent means there is something on the horizon the likes of which we have never seen before. So stay. Sit. Linger. Tarry. Ponder. Wait. Behold. Wonder. There will be time enough for running.” – Jan Richardson

Dec 25

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Keep Your Eye on the Ball

“A merry heart does good like medicine.” – Proverbs 17:22

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” – James 1:17

On a quiet Christmas morning, we were greeted with a fresh blanket of snow on our daily trip to the dog park. The new snow creates a challenge for ball chasing if you don’t keep your eye on the ball. If Abby looked too far ahead or back in anticipation, she missed the ball when it went deep in the snow. She searched with intent and focus to look for the lost ball.

This season is a time to reflect on and celebrate the birth of Jesus who entered a broken world in a stable filled with animals and ordinary people. The promise and gift is that He remains with us each day on our imperfect, beautiful and flawed journey. He searches for our time and attention to lighten our days and create meaning from the journey.

The Christmas story is not one of the past but of what’s present and available to us now. Today and every day, heaven comes to earth to save us from ourselves. Accept this incomprehensible, undeserved gift of peace, grace, mercy, light and love. It’s as real today as it was that cold, lonely, miraculous day in a stable for there was no room at the Inn. Make room at your “Inn” for God to participate in your life.

Not too far back or ahead, keep your eye on the ball. Merry Christmas.

“Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!” – 2 Corinthians 9:15

Dec 25

Oh Come All Ye Faithless, Hopeless and Lost

Today, the most sacred of days for Christians, we celebrate the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ, a baby born in a barn, rejected from the beginning. As I savored Celine Dion’s renditions of Oh Come All Ye Faithful and Oh Holy Night, it occurred to me that we are called to invite not only the faithful, but the faithless, hopeless and lost into the miracle of today.

No religion or denomination owns today or fully comprehends the grace, love and mercy that is given without condition. It is a celebration for all humankind – the hurting, the struggling and the imperfect.

And those of us who believe in the birth, crucifixion and resurrection are expected to share the love, kindness and awe born on this day. Less talking, more showing in how we live it out each day. It requires humility, forgiveness, acceptance and a big dose of joy.

Today and each day ahead, a weary world rejoices. Join us in unexplainable hope, faith, love and light. We are the imperfect, the faithful that falter and the found who go astray. There’s plenty of room at the table. Oh holy night indeed.

“O holy night the stars are brightly shining

It is the night of our dear Savior’s birth

Long lay the world in sin and error pining

Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth

A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices

For yonder breaks a new glorious morn

Fall on your knees”

Merry Merry Christmas!

Nov 27

First Real Snow

“I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields, that it kisses them so gently? And then it covers them up snug, you know, with a white quilt; and perhaps it says, “Go to sleep, darlings, till the summer comes again.”― Lewis Carroll

“It is the life of the crystal, the architect of the flake, the fire of the frost, the soul of the sunbeam. This crisp winter air is full of it.” – John Burroughs

This morning we got our first real snow. The snow that’s heavy, plowable and will probably be the base snow that will remain until April. The proclamation that Fall has officially done its job and it’s winter’s turn. Transition time over.

It’s beautiful, fresh, clean and a big inconvenience on the busiest travel day of the year as we kick off six weeks of holiday busyness.

This kind of snow slows us down. And there in lies the gift.

Slow down and celebrate the gifts that you already have right now. Not the ones you’ll race to get on Black Friday. Don’t miss what already is present in search of presents that can never replace a long meaningful conversation, a call or text to check in on someone who’s lost someone this year and this is the first holiday without a loved one, a hug that softly whispers “you’re not alone, and it’s going to be alright.”

Be grateful for all that is, was and will come. God weaves life with both struggle and awe. So often, we only see the struggle and miss the awe. Abundance is an attitude and awareness, not a bank account and pile of gifts. Gratitude is the best gift you can give and receive.

Even in Minnesota, when we know that winter never skips a turn, we are taken back when it hits. So rather than enjoying the beauty and slowing that winter brings, we shift our attention to what we can’t control – the weather – and the complaining ensues.

Abby and Sasha had the appropriate response to the snow this morning. They leaped, created new paths and chased each other, rolling in delight. They saw the gift immediately.

Happy Thanksgiving and may you be grateful each day for your blessings that are hiding right in front of you. Slow down and go make some snow angels.

“To be interested in the changing seasons is a happier state of mind than to be hopelessly in love with spring.” – George Santayana

Dec 23

What God Says…

“After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.” – 1 Kings 19:12

In the past few weeks, we’ve had unseasonably warm temperatures so all of the November snow has melted. This week, the weather people have been showing off all of their computer weather models and predicting with confidence and certainty that we will have a “brown” Christmas which apparently happens 70 percent of the time. Lots of pining and consternation amidst the hurry and hustle of what is meant to be a season of reflection, anticipation and joy.

When letting the dogs out this morning, I was surprised by a beautiful fresh coat of snow, laying quietly on the ground. And, yet again, God enters softly and says something much different than our chatter. Reminding us for the 499th time (only an estimate, probably higher, should check a computer model to be sure) of who’s really driving. And if we would let go of the wheel that we are gripping oh so tightly, we might enjoy the ride.

“All of nature begins to whisper its secrets to us through its sounds. Sounds that were previously incomprehensible to our soul now become the meaningful language of nature.” – Rudolf Steiner

“All of nature begins to whisper its secrets to us through its sounds. Sounds that were previously incomprehensible to our soul now become the meaningful language of nature.” – Rudolf Steiner

On this eve of Christmas eve and in every ordinary day, God is present waiting patiently to be found by us. And when we are spinning like a top going nowhere, He whispers with a fresh coat of snow making the world and all in it new again.

He has already claimed us unconditionally. And when we stop putting conditions, rules and judgment on our life, we come alive. So with moments to spare, what God says has the final say. As it should. Merry White Christmas.

Dec 23

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Make Room at the Inn

“God seeks to influence humanity. This is at the heart of the Christmas story. It is the story of light coming into the darkness, of a Savior to show us the way, of light overcoming the darkness, of God’s work to save the world.” – Adam Hamilton

We fill our days with busy and often little substance in the pursuit of whatever. We have no room left for awe and holy to enter. Christmas invites us to wait, anticipate and prepare for the most sacred birth, for us to be reborn to possibility, hope and joy.

There was no room at the Inn so Jesus was born in a barn. The beginning of His life started with rejection and love still entered ever so bright. And the end of His life on this earth was the most unimaginable and unfathomable. Both His birth and death were to save us, even in this very moment.

So if your “Inn” is filled with loss, regret, unforgiveness, loneliness, make room for Christ to enter this week and to remain during the ordinary days ahead. Create some room in your heart and let it be filled with light and love.

“Maybe Christmas, the Grinch thought, doesn’t come from a store.” – Dr. Seuss

“People are like stained – glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within.” – Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

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