Help! I’m drowning! That’s how I often feel this time of year. It’s not just preparing for Advent and Christmas that’s got me stressed; we’re also gearing up to open our warming shelter for the season. Scrambling to find a location for the shelter, training new volunteers, preparing posters, flyers, and essential shelter documents… the list goes on and on.
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy volunteering for the shelter. I find great wisdom and compassion in my friends living outside as well as the team tasked with putting it all together. But all this comes into full swing as we’re gearing up at MSA for Advent and Christmas and wanting to make sure what we do on the Godspace Community Blog is meaningful for our writers and readers.
Every year October and November seem to collide like the perfect storm. It’s like the year speeds up from both ends and smashes together with a thunderous clash. My heart races, my stress level elevates, and anxiety seeps in through the fissures. I sometimes feel like the disciples must have felt on that boat in the middle of a tumultuous lake:
One day Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.” So they got into a boat and started out. As they sailed across, Jesus settled down for a nap. But soon a fierce storm came down on the lake. The boat was filling with water, and they were in real danger.
The disciples went and woke him up, shouting, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown! When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and the raging waves. Suddenly the storm stopped and all was calm. Then he asked them, “Where is your faith?” The disciples were terrified and amazed. “Who is this man?” they asked each other. “When he gives a command, even the wind and waves obey him!” Luke 8:22-15 New Living Translation
OK, yes, I sometimes feel like Jesus is asleep at the helm. I can admit that. I can also recognize his voice asking me, “Where is your faith?” I know God has called me to continue working as the Volunteer Coordinator for our shelter, and God has called me to be director of Mustard Seed Associates. I’ve gotten into that boat. The questions I’m left with are:
- How do I push through the storms with courage and faith?
- Where can I find calm and shelter during the storms?
The Right Boat
First and foremost, I must ask if I’m doing things I’m not supposed to be doing. Have I gotten into the wrong boat? That’s a difficult question that takes discernment from those close to us who understand what we’ve taken on and why.
The problem often isn’t that we’re doing bad things, rather that we’ve taken on projects, parties, tasks, responsibilities (you fill in the blanks) that are not right for this season in our lives. Take time to evaluate your current and potential commitments. How do they line up with your sense of God’s tug on your life right now? Do you have a small group or someone you can go to who can confirm these choices?
The Right Crew
Now that I’m focused on the things I’m supposed to be doing, what does my support network look like? I need people around me who can encourage, pray, and listen well to my rants and complaints when times get tough. For me that means a small group from church, a couple of close friends, and my teams at MSA and at the warming shelter. Who is giving you support?
The Right Shelters
I also need times to just get away. To be honest, I don’t do a good job scheduling these times into my life. I would have better balance if I did. I do have a pretty good internal mechanism that lets me know when my emotions and energy are getting out of sync. That’s often when I call my brother and suggest it’s time for another mushroom hunt, camping trip, or both!
I’m refreshed by the wilderness and filled with wonder at God’s diverse creation. I just returned from one such campout and, even though it poured rain half the time we were out, I feel renewed. Where do you find renewal, refreshment, and energy? How can you be more deliberate about regularly scheduling those things into your routine during this holiday season?
The Right Captain
Out in that boat, far from shore, the disciples had a crisis. It happens. As we cross through the waters of Advent and Christmas, we may well experience our own crisis. When the disciples cried out to Jesus he was only feet away, resting in the stern of the boat.
This reminds me that I need to stay close to Jesus. What that means may look different for each one of us, but we need to ask ourselves, what makes me feel close to God? We might also want to ask ourselves, what makes me feel distant from God?
These two questions frame for us our spiritual temperament. Knowing the answers to these two questions will help us to incorporate more of what draws us closer to God while eliminating those things that draw us away from God. If we want to be guided and reassured by God’s presence, then we need to make sure that God’s in the boat with us.
The Right Attitude
Chaos will come. We can do what we can to cut personal chaos out of our lives and get control over our own busyness, but this time of year the world is amped up. Recognizing this helps us to reframe the season, to recognize the wind is howling, but know that we don’t have to get caught up in the storm. This kind of honesty protects us from anger, frustration, and anxiety. With this bit of inner peace, walking back through the points I’ve suggested becomes much easier.
- How are you feeling about the coming seasons of Advent and Christmas and all that comes with them?
- What boat are you in? Is it the right boat?
- Who is your crew? Who are you crewing for?
- Have you identified your shelters along the way? What are they?
- How close are you to the Captain? Are there things you can put into place now that will draw you close and keep you closer?
by Joy Lenton —
Resting isn’t just about stepping down or drawing back from chaotic busyness and the things which distract us from nurturing our soul life, it’s also about coming into a still, calm place where we can listen better to what God is doing in our lives and in the world. It involves a conscious tuning out in order to fully tune in to His voice.
One day I was becoming anxious about my persistent ill health preventing me from fulfilling what I saw as the calling on my life. Dropping deep into my ingratitude and frustration, I sensed God whispering these words:
“Sitting at the feet of Jesus is your calling. Everything else will flow from it.”
Wow, I thought, how deceptively simple yet profound! Here is a calling for every Christian believer. Above any other thing, we are all called to give Jesus the pre-eminence He deserves in our lives, and that’s hard to do when we’re overly stretched.
Then I wondered: What might sitting at Jesus’ feet look like? Something like this, perhaps…
• an attitude of humility, reverence, submission
• recognition of His Lordship over all things
• a soul’s prompt, obedient surrender
• a willingness to listen and learn
• a heart’s devotion, worship and praise
• a receptive mind yielding to God’s word
• a soul at rest and peace, in harmony, complete
There is great value in stillness, after all.
“Stillness is what gives stability. And it is what keeps the wheels falling off our lives” ~ Ken Gire in ‘Windows of the Soul’
The story of Mary and Martha (from Luke 10:38-42), always speaks to me. We witness Martha willingly opening her home to Jesus, though her heart was diverted away from being as receptive to His teaching as her sister Mary was, because she allowed extra busyness to distract her from achieving inner stillness.
What had Jesus come for? I think He wanted the solace of their friendship as His darkest hour drew nigh. Maybe He was not so much hungry for food and drink as for soul company, for someone to drink in His words, listen to their meaning and find their inner thirst satiated in Him.
Mary saw into His soul and answered its cry for a soul companion, while Martha saw the lean fatigue in His face and answered with food. Sadly, her distractedness caused anger and resentment to build up. Martha experienced that inner tug-of-war we all feel at times between duty and devotion.
Our souls long for peaceful contemplation and restful quietude. We scorn the need, drown it out with activities which are not necessarily wrong in themselves but which take us away from what our souls crave most.
Our inner voice is always urging us toward rest and peace, and we so often ignore its gentle persuasion. Fear of missing out, fear of being still, fear of what we’ll hear when we stop – all of these and more will hold us back from moving in that direction. Although we really do need sacred spaces in our days, because a stilled soul is an alert and receptive soul into which God will pour wisdom and instruction.
As I read the biblical account of Mary and Martha, I relate easily to Martha, because my default mode used to be fussing and fretting when wanting to organise things. However, many years of being chronically sick with M.E have altered that trait somewhat. I’ve grown used to not being a physically active, outwardly busy person and more drawn toward a contemplative frame of mind.
I actually need to be still and take enforced rest on a daily basis, because it’s best for me. But we don’t have to wait until sickness derails us in order to appreciate the benefits of stilling our body and soul before God, because you and I can quit the chaos whenever we decide to come quietly before Him. There is abundant joy, peace and solace to be found in His presence. What greater incentive do we need?
by Keren Dibbens-Wyatt —
Today was an awful day. It was the day after some people I love very dearly had a truly awful day and I know today for them was, if anything, even worse. There is nothing I can do to help them, but pray.
Sometimes praying doesn’t feel like very much. It doesn’t take a huge amount of effort, it doesn’t even have to take much time, so it can feel deceptively insubstantial. But it does take heart. It does take faith, and it is one of the ways God teaches us that it is our smallness, our tiny offering, that he turns into his greatness, his work, his wonder. It is our little two loaves and five fish that he turns into a feast, with basketfuls left over.
I know this because I see the answers he gives all the time, and I feel them too. And I have discovered over the years, that the answers can take a very long time to become apparent. And so I do not give up praying. I believe we have no idea how persevering prayer lifts God’s heart.
Answers to our prayers follow people into heaven and sometimes hell. They surround lives, they bring peace of mind and wholeness of body, they bring good into lives. They transform suffering into doorways to bountiful love. There is no end to the good that God brings out of prayer.
So, on a bad day like today, waylaid even more than usual by a virus and by heartbreak, I pray, knowing that someone knows better than I do. Knowing that someone loves deeper than I do. Knowing that I may never see what fruit came of my taking a minute to ask for something for someone. Trusting that something good came of it. On a good day, I pray, for the same reasons.
Because it takes so little from us, and because its effects are usually far from immediate or visible, it is easy to make the most common mistake in prayer, and the one thing the enemy wants us to do more than anything, and that is, not to pray. To believe the lie that the awfulness is so big and so terrible, that the mess is so huge and difficult, that saying a prayer will not help. To believe, perhaps consequently, that there’s no point praying to a God who “let” the terrible things happen in the first place. To think that my caring is so small that it can’t change a thing, or that God will not listen, let alone act.
But all our prayers rise before God, and he hears them all. “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.” (1 John 5:14 NIV) And when you are desperate, or in shock, or in the middle of something traumatic, the ability to pray may well desert you, as it has done to all of us at times. This is when we need intercessors more than anything, and when we realise that clenching our fists is prayer, and when we finally know what Paul meant when he said that some of our prayers are groanings rather than words:
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. (Romans 8:26 NIV)
Does prayer change much? we might wonder. People still die, still suffer, still hurt. But if we have prayed, things are going to be different; transformed by grace, yes, perhaps on a level we might never be aware of, never see. Or we might witness a miracle, or a slowly-released blessing.
I remember a long prayer session about 15 years ago, when I interceded for a young woman I knew in great distress, horribly ill with the same disease I have. During and after the session (this was solitary prayer, she was not present), I felt a huge release of power from heaven. I knew, beyond a doubt, that my prayers had been answered. Yet it was only last year that I saw her truly start to become free from all the things that bound her. And she is blossoming now in ways I’d never dreamed of ever seeing, in part perhaps because of all she has endured, and it seems timely and right. Heaven, I guess, is never in a rush, and knows what it is about.
So today I pray for my loved ones in their distress. And I know and trust those prayers are heard, that God is somehow with them. And that in ways I cannot fathom, their lives and eternities will be better for my prayers. I try not to say these days, “Well, all I can do is pray,” because it seems to me that praying is the best and most powerful action I can take. It can be deeply frustrating, when answers do not seem to come, or they are slow, or things take a strange turn we did not see coming, but only two things remain sure to me in this: God is good, and prayer is never, ever, a waste of time.
Truly seeking God requires courage. These words spoken by our deacon in last Sunday’s sermon really caught my attention and keep resonating in my spirit as I think about Advent and Christmas.
As we head into this chaotic season, we need courage to rest when others are frantically busy. We need courage to say no when so many options are offered to us. And we need courage to make the seeking after God our number one priority. Even good Christmas activities like nativity plays, Christmas carolling, and celebrations can keep us busily distracted from the real meaning of the season and a singular focus on the Christ whose birth we supposedly celebrate.
To be honest I often wonder how much of our frantic activity is because we do not want to confront the challenges which Jesus asks of us. Busyness means that we don’t need to think.
Seeking after God and after a fresh revelation of Christ when others are seeking after pleasure is not for the faint hearted. It often opens us up to uncomfortable truths we don’t want to confront. For some it truths about who Jesus really is and how seriously we want to follow him. For others it is truths about ourselves and how we need to change in order to move closer to God.
I love this translation of Acts 17: 26-30 from The Voice which I have been meditating on as I think about what it means to seek God. The idea that we are all offspring of God’s creative act and that God is never far from us is profound. To seek God is to seek after the One who longs to be in relationship with us and to know us as children.
This God made us in all our diversity from one original person, allowing each culture to have its own time to develop, giving each its own place to live and thrive in its distinct ways. 27 His purpose in all this was that people of every culture and religion would search for this ultimate God, grope for Him in the darkness, as it were, hoping to find Him. Yet, in truth, God is not far from any of us. 28 For you know the saying, “We live in God; we move in God; we exist in God.” And still another said, “We are indeed God’s children.” 29 Since this is true, since we are indeed offspring of God’s creative act, we shouldn’t think of the Deity as our own artifact, something made by our own hands—as if this great, universal, ultimate Creator were simply a combination of elements like gold, silver, and stone. 30 No, God has patiently tolerated this kind of ignorance in the past, but now God says it is time to rethink our lives and reject these unenlightened assumptions.
What is Your Response?
As we start to get ready for the Advent and Christmas season I wonder how seriously any of us seek after God. Sit for a few minutes and prayerfully consider your own priorities as you look ahead to Advent and Christmas. How does the idea of being one of God’s children, fashioned by God’s creative act impact the way you look at the season? In what ways do you plan to seek after God? What has already been birthed in you that needs to be nourished into life? How could this focused seeking reduce the chaos of the season for you?
Watch the video below – one of my favourite hymns that focuses on the wonder of seeking God and having our vision fully focused on the Holy Creator of all life. Is there something else that you feel God is saying to you about how to reduce the chaos in your life?
As we wind up our week looking at overcoming consumerism this video came to mind. Why do we seem compelled to purchase certain things? When are we most vulnerable? How can we begin to make changes in our behavior?
This short video does a great job looking at those issues and more. Take time to check our their website for many other resources like “Simplifying the Holidays” resource packet, webinars on topics like starting a toy lending library and starting an alternative gift fair and more.
This holiday season, how are you planning to combat the temptation to overconsume? What ideas can you share that help you stay focused on what matters most?
Please comment below.
We consume. That’s a fact of life. “Overcoming Consumerism”, our mini-theme this week, is not about ending consumption but rather paying more attention to why we buy what we buy, how much we buy, and what kinds of things we ultimately spend our money on. In this post, MSA teammate Katie Metzger challenges us to consider the source of our clothing purchases. What impact does your Christmas shopping have on those who produce and sell your gifts? Whether or not we realize it, shopping reflects our values.
Female Garment Workers in Thailand
Look at the clothes you are wearing right now….Would you believe that 80-90% of what you are wearing was made in inhumane, unsustainable conditions?
Well, the sad fact is, this is most often the case. Sweatshops are not a thing of the past. Buying well-made, high end clothing does not mean that it is made in any different conditions than Old Navy or Walmart clothing.
This is hard to swallow, and as someone who loves fashion and also believes that all people bear the image of God, it can seem too overwhelming to even think about. However, information and acknowledgement is where change begins.
So why should you care about where your clothing comes from and what can you, practically, do?
When discussing the issue of ethicality in the clothing industry, one may have images of sweatshops and child laborers in developing nations toiling all day in inhumane conditions. Although this image may seem extreme, it is a very real aspect of our current garment and fashion industry practices worldwide.
Sweatshops from Bangladesh to Cambodia routinely pay their workers less than $1.20 per day for their work. This is not a living wage, even in poverty stricken communities. The chronic underpayment of garment industry workers creates a cycle of poverty in already struggling communities, in turn contributing to other social issues resulting from poverty such as lack of access to education, health problems, and prostitution. Sweatshops are not only present in developing nations but are also a growing problem in the United States.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, in recent years roughly 11,000 U.S. based factories were cited as violating workers rights and not paying laborers a minimum wage. This shows the problem of human rights violations in textile and garment factories is not only an international problem but a domestic problem as well. Additionally, many companies touted as being ethically made have had numerous sweatshop scandals. When it comes to clothing ethicality we must learn to be active, not passive, consumers of information.
Ethical Clothing Brand: Same Thread
In 2006, a study was done by the American Sociological Association regarding the marketability of fair trade products; this study found that an overwhelming majority of consumers would pay $1-$5 more for items they know are made in an ethical way.
Although large strides towards ethical production have been made in the coffee, chocolate and food industry, the clothing industry remains hugely underserved.
I am someone who loves fashion and clothing. The thrill of a new dress or pair of shoes is not lost on me. However, I also believe that all humans are entitled to certain God given rights that must be respected.
As I’ve become more interested in ethicality and the fashion industry I keep asking myself, “What can I, practically, do?”. Not all of us can afford to shop exclusively from fair trade clothing brands, and more often than not the aesthetics in fair trade clothing is extremely lacking. So what small changes can we make to have a positive impact on the clothing industry?
1. Realize that someone is paying the price for your clothing…is it you or the garment worker? Jeans should cost more than $9.99. When you come across clothing that is extremely cheap ask yourself, “what kind of production practices lend itself to producing a $3 tank top”? The answer is usually pretty obvious.
2. Inform yourself about your favorite brands. It is well-known that companies such as Forever 21, H&M, Victoria’s Secret, and Walmart have unethical supply chains. However, information and transparency is severely lacking for many brands. Do some digging online and if nothing is available, request information. Here is a thorough list to get you started on what companies to avoid and which to buy.
3. If you are unsure, shop local and second-hand. Finding local markets and boutiques supports your local economy and makes it easier to engage in conversation and get information. Also, second-hand and vintage shopping can be a cost-effective and fun way to go! Most of my favorite pieces in my wardrobe were found at great vintage stores. I love that shopping locally and second-hand gives me a unique wardrobe and personal style.
4. Start exploring and support fair trade fashion companies. As I stated earlier, finding fair trade clothing that is actually fashionable can be a struggle. Many fair trade clothing companies are either insanely expensive or produce clothing you wouldn’t want to wear. However, lately there has been a huge surge of new fashionable clothing companies that are competitively priced. Here is a list of some of my current fair trade favorites: Mata Traders, People Tree, Fair Indigo, Sseko
Due to the lack on choice in the ethical clothing market, In early 2015 my business partner and I launched our first collection of fashion forward, ethically made clothing. Same Thread helps to empower women vulnerable to the sex industry in Thailand by providing economic opportunity while expanding fair trade choices for consumers. For more information visit us at samethread.com.
Informing ourselves and leaning into change is the first step to breaking our collective addiction to fast fashion. Join me in working to bring reconciliation and progress to the fashion industry!
Katie is the Co-Founder and Creative Director of Same Thread, an ethical clothing brand for women. She also serves on staff at Mustard Seed Associates and The Seattle School of Theology and Psychology. She is a native Pacific Northwesterner with a passion for social justice and bringing fair trade business practices into the mainstream.
In 2014 she completed her MA in International Development at Northwest University, where she focused on social enterprise and it’s capacity to economically empower women. She has a background in event planning, marketing, design and retail production. On a typical Saturday she can be found cooking, sewing, drawing, listening to records, vintage shopping, sipping whiskey and playing with her puppies.
Rip! Another calendar page bites the dust. November is upon us and the stores are already crammed with Christmas decorations. Even before Halloween we were bombarded with Christmas and Thanksgiving items ready to be snatched up by the all-too-easily-influenced consumer.
All this reminds me why we chose to focus November on preparing our hearts and homes for Advent and Christmas. We need to be proactive. It’s not just the temptation to be swept up by the marketing machine; the pace of our lives seem to keep time with the hustle and bustle of the holidays. Before we know it, it’s January first and we’re making resolutions to do better next Christmas.
Resistance Is Futile! (or is it?)
“Overcoming Consumerism” is our mini-theme this week. What can we do to resist the onslaught? First and foremost, we need to be intentional. Most often I think we acknowledge the craziness of the season, wish it were different, then plunge in without a plan. In her post “Seven Tips for a Stress Free Advent and Christmas”, Christine Sine gives excellent advice to carve out physical and emotional space conducive to keeping our center during this frenetic time of year.
You might also take our four November mini-themes as reflection points as you both begin and end the week. Here they are:
- Week 1: Overcoming Consumerism — Resisting the drive for more.
- Week 2: Resting in Chaos — How to create space for rest when the world is whipped up into a frenzy.
- Week 3: Keeping It Simple
- Week 4: Making Space for Hospitality — Ideas for gatherings of welcome and moments of connecting.
With this framework, you could begin your week asking:
- What are the temptations to overconsume this coming week? Why am I tempted by them? (Knowing what motivates us to overconsume is a deeply spiritual issue). How can I become more aware of my unhealthy motivations as I go about my week?
- What gives me peace? What can I do this week that will help me to rest and refocus? As Christine suggests, you might create a place of rest in or around your home. You might try setting an alarm on your phone to 9 am, 12 noon, 3 pm, 6 pm, and 9 pm – simple reminders to stop, pray, and rest for a moment in God. Perhaps you could change how you take lunch, turning that time into a sacred break in the middle of your day.
- In the week ahead, where am I tempted to make things complicated? For many, Advent and Christmas are times to go overboard on decorations, lavish treats and dinners, and packed schedules. Take time to reflect on what is most important. If helpful, reframe your gatherings from entertainment to a gathering of good friends. When we focus on entertaining, or even hospitality, we often end up emphasizing the production rather than the people. How can you simplify by cultivating good conversations and relationships rather than complex party plans?
- That last point leads right into making space for hospitality. For us introverts, this may unearth anxieties about crowds and chaos during this season. But hospitality comes in many shapes and sizes. Valuing friendships over frenzy, you might make a point of meeting each week for coffee or tea with one person who is important to you. It might be the same person every week, or you might choose to meet with different people.
You might also want to facilitate a small gathering of friends, potluck the dinner and/or have a cookie exchange. Invite friends over for a game night, or how about a movable decoration party where you turn putting up those outdoor lights into a rotating group event? The point is to get people together in simple, fun ways that emphasize togetherness.
At the end of the week, turn those questions inside-out by asking yourself:
- How well did I live into my goals?
- What can I do differently this coming week?
- Who can I invite to join me on this journey?
That last question is critical for most of us: On our own we’re often not too successful at change. We need others around us. We need people to ask how we’re doing, what difficulties we’re facing as the holidays near, and to journey with us into a more Christ-focused season. Who might that be for you?
I hope you join us on this expedition through the jungle of holiday excess. Many perils may cross our path, but together we can reach our destination in peace and with sanity in-tact.
One more thing you might find that journaling will help you to better arrange your thoughts and review your progress. Journals don’t have to be written, they might be drawn, painted, or a scrapbook of reminders. If you do choose to write, think about different forms of writing that might release even more reflection – try a poem, a short story, or even a song.
This is part of our series “Preparing Our Hearts and Homes for Advent and Christmas”. We invite you to look ahead at the mini-theme for each week. If you’re interested in writing a post for us for one of these weeks, we’d love to share your thoughts! Please take a moment to review our “Join Our Writer’s Community” page to find out more, then drop us an email. We want Godspace to be your space.
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