Saturday

It’s been a crazy week. My swelling has gone down in my ribs and now I’m just feeling “pinchy” I just wanted to leave a few words of wisdom for this Saturday evening

Even when I have pains,
I don’t have to be one.

Happy Twenty-Ten

It’s been an eventful few weeks!  We had 18 people in the house for Christmas… it was chaotic at times, but overall – it was VERY enjoyable – especially the opportunity to hang out with my youngest nieces… the twins are 3-year old bundles of fun!

Gracie spent a week with Grammy while Rachel & I finished packing the U-haul and cleaning out our condo. On New Year’s Eve I fell out of the back of the U-Haul and bruised my right side. I am still in pain a week later. My father-in-law, who happens to be a trauma nurse, checked out my injury and stated that I probably broke a rib.  He said that they can’t do ANYTHING for it – I just have to deal with the discomfort for a few weeks.

We are looking forward to a new year of new challenges and opportunities. Getting to know new friends and getting re-acquainted with old friends.

Christmas Guests

Today the first guest of the Christmas Holiday arrives!

In 1957 my grandparents bought a 1.77 acre parcel with a single-story, built in 1922, farm-house.  Over the next 10+ years they changed the house in many ways:

• tore off the roof and added 6 bedrooms upstairs with a 3/4 bath and a 1/2 bath
• added a 26-foot living room
• added a full-basement
• added an 8 foot extension onto the Kitchen dining area (twice)
• added a bathroom to the Master Bedroom
• Added a laundry room/utility area off of the kitchen

They did all of this in order to be able to be hospitable. They hosted large dinners and gatherings from the church and community. They hosted a singing groups, choirs, missionary families, and even large parts of their extended family over the years.

This year my grandparents are hosting Christmas with Rachel and I.

Rachel and I moved in with Gramma this year. I came at the end of August to work a job that I no longer have (still looking for another one) and Rachel came 1 week ago (after finishing the term at school).  With our daughter and my grandparents that makes 5 in our household (plus their dog, “Rocky”).

Today – the first guest arrives… It’s going to be great.

Who’s coming to Christmas?

• Uncle B (and his dog “Baron”)
• My mother
• My sister, her husband and 6 children
• My bro-in-law (and his dog “Patrón”)
• My ma-in-law, & her husband

We will have 18 people here for the holidays (13 guests + the 5 residents of this home) – with all of the pies & goodies & festivities that go along with that – I’m going to check out of the blogosphere for the next few days!

MERRY CHRISTMAS! Enjoy time with your loved ones and remember the real reason for the season!

Winter

Today is the first day of Winter… there are 4 days until Christmas…

I enjoy having my family around so very much. We had the opportunity to have an afternoon out with a dear friend drinking coffee and catching up on LIFE.

Life is not always easy – but it sure is more bearable and even FUN when you are surrounded by people that you love and those who love you!

Bundle of Paradoxes

“When I get honest, I admit I am a bundle of paradoxes. I believe and I doubt, I hope and get discouraged, I love and I hate, I feel bad about feeling good, I feel guilty about not feeling guilty. I am trusting and I am suspicious. I am honest and I still play games. Aristotle said I am a rational animal; I say I am an angel with an incredible capacity for beer.”

The Ragamuffin Gospel: Good News for the Bedraggled, Beat-Up, and Burnt Out

They arrive TODAY!

Please give a warm welcome, all of you in the Seattle-area and greater Pacific Northwest region… to my wife and daughter who are finally relocating from the Southwestern town of Las Vegas… we can all be one big happy family again!

My how I’ve sorely missed them these long 3 1/2 months!

You’re Outta Here!

I came across a blog recently that really articulated something that I’ve been thinking about lately. I’ve pasted the content of the blog below:

“Get Out Of Here!!!”

“But Jesus! You are my Lord!”

“Get away from Me. I never knew you.”

“But I healed people in Your Name. I spoke in tongues and cast out demons.”

“I said, “Get away” – You’ve never been a part of Me or My message.”

“But I prophesied damn it. Don’t you get it? I prophesied!!!!”

“Get – Away – From – Me.”

How is it that people can believe they’re a Christian with out the presence of Christ making a radical change in their character and priorities?

How can we believe we are a light to the world when our behaviours and our speech show that our lives are as dark and confused as the life of the pagan next door?

How can I claim the love of Jesus if I don’t sacrificially love?

Thanks to Makarios for posting what I was unable to articulate.

Pray Like This!

I am a man of simple words when it comes to prayer. I fail at all of the pleasantries and poetry in spontaneous prayer. Keeping it simple and concise seems to work best for me. This is a great example of a short prayer filled with meaning.  I like the brevity of The Lord’s Prayer from Luke 11… Here it is from the New Living Translation:

Father, may your name be kept holy.
May your Kingdom come soon.
Give us each day the food we need,
and forgive us our sins,
as we forgive those who sin against us.
And don’t let us yield to temptation.

The Lord’s Prayer is often quoted from the longer text in Matthew… it would be the most familiar to most and it has even been set to music…Here is the more familiar passage including verses from Matthew 6:7-13 – in The Message paraphrase:

The world is full of so-called prayer warriors who are prayer-ignorant. They’re full of formulas and programs and advice, peddling techniques for getting what you want from God. Don’t fall for that nonsense. This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need. With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply. Like this:

Our Father in heaven,
Reveal who you are.
Set the world right;
Do what’s best— as above, so below.
Keep us alive with three square meals.
Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.
Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.
You’re in charge!
You can do anything you want!
You’re ablaze in beauty!
Yes. Yes. Yes.

I love the simple language. Simple yet powerful. It’s not by formula, magic words, or by a cracked code that we have access to Jesus. It’s through simple heart-felt prayer.  My daughter and I often pray something similar to this:

Jesus, thank you for another day to worship you! Thank you for friends and family. Thank you for the sunshine (or the rain/snow or whatever was the weather that day). Keep us safe and make us healthy & strong. Give us good dreams tonight and help us to wake up in the morning completely refreshed. Bless our missionary friends in Kenya and Bangladesh. Bless (spontaneous list of friends, family, pastors, etc) We love you Jesus… Amen.

It’s simple, spontaneous, and heart-felt. It’s got a template, but it’s not set in stone.

Advent Week 3: JOY

Week 1 of Advent is HOPE
Week 2 of Advent is PEACE
Week 3 of Advent is JOY

Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! (Luke 2:9-11 NLT)

God we thank you for the joy you bring us. Help us prepare our hearts for this gift you bring us. Guide our minds and our hearts as we worship you in this advent season. Help us to hear and do your word. In the name of the one born in Bethlehem. Amen.

Really?

Maybe it’s because I cannot fathom spending $40,000 – $60,000 on a car… but are there seriously people who drop 10’s of thousands of dollars on a surprise Christmas gift with a gigantic bow on top? You know – like in the Lexus TV ads?

I’m not saying that the super-rich don’t do things like this – but why advertise to the masses on television? I have NEVER seen anybody do something like this before!

In my experience – it is more likely to be the gift of a parody/spoof HAT that someone would receive as a Christmas Gift with a “bow”

I’m not saying that the car wouldn’t be a tremendous surprise… it’s just not likely to happen to ME!

On the other hand – what better gift could there be than spending time with the ones that you love, singing “Happy Birthday” to Jesus, drinking Spiced Cider, eating Birthday Cake, reading Christmas stories and just enjoying one another with the warm glow of the fire in the background?