Reaching for Resources
Its that time of the year when we all resolve to be better people, look after ourselves more or just plain commit to do things we have not had time for last year. Most of us know that the resolutions we make will not be kept. By Valentine’s day we have forgotten, discarded or just plain ignored them.
So how do we make resolutions that we keep. Three simple steps that come to mind here which I have always found very helpful:
Keep it simple.
Make it meaningful.
Stick to it.
Another system that is helpful (adapted from Organic Gardening of all places) is the S.M.A.R.T. system:
Be specific: Don’t say “I want to deepen my prayer life” but rather “I want to prayer 10 minutes more each day.”
Make it measurable: Intangible goals are impossible to track. Take the example above. When you reach the 5 minutes a day for 5 day goal in prayer celebrate it – maybe with a half day prayer retreat. When you reach your 10 minutes of prayer for 10 days celebrate with a whole day retreat.
Make it attainable: Is your goal within your ability to fulfill it? I cringe when people tell me about their goals to save the world or to transform the city in which they live – all within a 3 month period and without any training or expertise. More attainable goals might be – get involved in a local mission organization; increase my giving to charities by 50%. Take a course in city organization or social entrepreneurship or evangelism. These are attainable goals whose accomplishment gives great satisfaction.
Make it realistic: Develop a plan for attaining your goals and enlist help in achieving your goals. Setting down tangible and measurable action steps that will keep you on track is extremely important. This helps us weigh the possibilities against the commitments we already have and makes us more aware of the time and resource commitments our goals demand. Enlisting help can often be a great reality check as our friends say “Have you thought of…?” or “When will you….? Paying close attention to their advice is an important part of the process.
Develop a timetable. As the article I read this morning suggested: Timeliness adds urgency and reinforces accountability. This too is extremely important though we need to balance our timetables with the flexibility to change and adapt. There is no such thing as failure. Setbacks are merely obstacles to be surmounted and conquered. And surmounting them gives us a sense of how determined we are to change our old habits.
Many resolutions require breaking with old, ingrained behaviors or attitudes. It takes time to transform habits and emotional reactions. So don’t give up because you ate a piece of cake or missed some gym time or snapped at a coworker or sibling. Genuine and lasting change does not come easily and it does not come overnight. It happens one day at a time, with a series of sustained, practical actions. If you are willing to be smart about pursuing your goal, you can be successful.
And let me finish with some good advice from the apostle Paul in Hebrews 12:1-3 (NLT)
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. 2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. 3 Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up. (from Biblegateway.com)
How seriously will you follow Christ in 2014? The year 2013 is almost at an end and most of us are thinking about what we want to focus on for the coming year. Here are some suggestions on how to enrich your life as you prepare for the year ahead.
- Have a clear sense of purpose for the coming year. Having a clear sense of what God has called us to do makes it easier to set boundaries and say no to the many good things we are asked to do that do not reflect that purpose.
- Set some goals. The words that come to my mind are inward, upward and outward. A rich and balanced life requires equilibrium in all three and it is important to set goals that will enrich your inner life, your relationship to God and your relationship to those around you.
- Develop regular spiritual practices – spiritual disciplines for your inner life, prayer times for your upward relationship to God, hospitality and times of service out into the community.
- Practice Sabbath. This is probably the most enriching habit that we can develop not just for our spiritual lives but for our bodies and our minds as well.
- Develop habits of gratitude. This has become part of my Sabbath discipline. When I started asking myself each week “What am I grateful for?” it revolutionized my attitude towards myself and toward the world around me.
- Learn to look and listen for the presence of God. Using contemplative practices like lectio divina and the prayer of examen have opened my eyes and my ears to the presence of God in all of creation, in every encounter, and in each moment of the day.
- Practice compassion. Psychologists tell us that one of the best ways to help people who are depressed is to get them out helping others. All of us need the discipline of reaching out to others in love and compassion yet often find that in the busyness of their lives reaching out to others is often marginalized.
- Become a servant. “Consider the needs of others as more important than your own” Paul reminds us, but our culture tells us “its all about me”. Hedonism and narcissism are well practiced arts that never satisfy. There is no greater joy I know than doing something for someone else.
- Get out into God’s good creation. Whether it be gardening, hiking, biking, fishing or just sitting by the seashore, time spent outdoors is enriching and therapeutic for all of us.
- Set aside days throughout the year for refocusing and reflection. By now most of you know that I am a strong advocate for retreat days that help keep us on track throughout the year. You might like to plan these now so that they become protected times for you. Some of us like to take 2-3 days every 3 or 4 months. Others find that a day a month is more appropriate. Whatever suits you, make sure that you incorporate this practice into your year’s schedule.
While reflecting on these things this morning this prayer was birthed in my heart.
Christ has come,
His light is sown
in our lives and in our world.
And it grows,
already breaking out
in justice and freedom and compassion.
Let it burst through the darkness
and shine,
Like the light of a new day,
let it radiate through your life.
Let Christ’s birth within you
bring light and life
to all creation.
Shout to the nations, sing to the whole earth,
The Eternal One reigns!
The world is anchored by his presence
and will not shake loose.
So, let the heavens resound in gladness!
Let joy be the earth’s rhythm
as the seas and all its creatures roar.
Let the fields grow in triumph
a grand jubilee for all that live there.
Let all the trees of the forest dig in and reach high
with songs of joy before the Eternal one.
For Christ our saviour the One who is faithful and true
has come.
His throne was established from the beginning of the world.
He will set the world right by his truth and justice.
His righteousness and peace and wholeness
will last through all eternity.
(Adapted from Psalm 96).
Now that Christmas Day is over many of us feel let down because the day we have been anticipating for so long is over. The malls strip their elaborate decorations and junk their remaining Christmas stocks with huge 50-70% off sales. The Christmas wreaths and trees are thrown out for the garbage collectors and our frenzied activities give way to a low grade depression. But Christmas isn’t really over. In the sixth century it was decided that celebrating Christmas just for a day didn’t provide time to celebrate all the joy that Christ’s birth brought into the world. They made Christmas into a twelve day festival that ended with a feast on the Eve of Epiphany on January 5th to celebrate the coming of the wise men. Yep that’s right the 12 days of Christmas begin with Christmas Day they don’t end there as many malls would have us believe. In countries where this understanding of Christmas has not been co-opted by the commercialism of our society Christmas trees are not decorated until Christmas Eve and remain in the house sparking with light and life until the Eve of Epiphany.
This is the season when we are meant to celebrate with joy and gratitude the wonder of a God whose love is so great that he sent his son to dwell amongst us. How incredible! How wonderful! Lets take advantage of every day of the Christmas season.
I first posted this a few years ago as morning prayers for the Christmas season and have used it ever since during the Christmas season. I always love to reread its words as i celebrate the birth of Christ. Hope you will too.
nativity – Lu Lan China
God of joy and celebration
God of love and mercy
God of peace and righteousness
We sing aloud and dance with the angels.
The ruler of all worlds, the shepherd of creation
Jesus Christ has entered our world
Our Saviour Christ has come into the world,
Not in power, not in might, but in the tenderness of love,
He comes as the promise of life hidden in a mother’s womb.
In this season of God with us we celebrate with the angels
We are graced by the wonder of God’s presence
We are filled with the tenderness of Christ’s love,
(Pause to light Advent and Christ candles)
Love and faithfulness meet together,
Righteousness and peace kiss each other,
Faithfulness springs forth from the earth
Shout aloud Hallelujah! God’s faithfulness comes down from heaven
God has kept his promise, the Saviour has been born and a new world begun .
In this season of God with us we rejoice for God’s salvation has come
The redeemer of all creation has come to earth
And we catch glimpses of God’s Messiah healed world
Shout aloud Hallelujah! God’s faithfulness comes down from heaven
God has kept his promise, the Saviour has been born and a new world begun .
This is the time we believe once more that perfect love casts out fear
That generosity transforms scarcity into abundance
That righteousness overcomes oppression with justice
Shout aloud Hallelujah! God’s faithfulness comes down from heaven
God has kept his promise, the Saviour has been born and a new world begun .
We are graced by Christ’s presence and filled with his love
May we become bearers of God’s light,
And go out to transform our troubled world.
Shout aloud Hallelujah! God’s faithfulness comes down from heaven
God has kept his promise, the Saviour has been born and a new world begun .
Scriptures of the day from the daily lectionary
The whole earth shouts with joy to God
The world declares God’s praise.
Praise to the compassionate and gracious One,
Who sent the son to dwell among us.
Praise to the incarnate One, Jesus Christ our Redeemer
Who fulfills God’s covenant of love and compassion to all humankind
Praise to the indwelling one, the Holy Spirit the giver of life
Who proclaims God’s mercy and justice throughout the earth
Praise to the three in One
Praise to the One in Three
Praise to God on high
Our Father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom the power and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.
Jesus you come
In the voice of the poor
In the hurting of the sick
In the anguish of the oppressed
Open our eyes that we may see you
Jesus you come
In the weakness of the vulnerable
In the questions of the doubting
In the fears of the dying
Open our ears that we might hear you
Jesus you come
In the celebration of the saints
In the generosity of the faithful
In the compassion of the caring
Open our hearts that we might embrace you
Almighty God whose great love and compassion came into our world in the person of your incarnate son, Jesus Christ, plant in every heart your concern and care for all humankind. May the light of Christ ignite our hearts and shine out brightly from our lives, proclaiming your salvation to all the earth.
May the light of God shine on us,
May the love of Christ shine in us,
May the life of the Spirit shine through us.
This day and evermore
Amen
Nativity with Joseph by Wayne Fort
Make room,
Let Christ be born
In the quiet and the innermost spaces
Of your hearts.
Make room,
Let Christ be born,
In the streets and in the ghettos,
In the famines and the plagues and in the wars.
Make room,
Let Christ be born
Not far away in distant ages,
But in every heart and place
Where love and faith are found.
Let Christ be born
And find in us his Bethlehem.
Homesick for a place we’ve never been
I’ve never been a very patient person, and so I find the season of advent quite a challenge. It’s supposed to be the season of waiting, of longing, of anticipating the joy and the warmth and the light of Christmas. But I confess that the day after Thanksgiving, I’m ready to listen to Christmas music. There’s something so wonderfully evocative about “Have yourself a merry little Christmas” – whether it’s sung by Frank Sinatra or Chrissie Hynde – that I can’t wait until December 25th to hear it. Such songs conjure up images of sipping cocoa by a roaring fire, surrounded by my loved ones, while snow falls gently to the ground outside, perhaps with the sound of carolers carrying in the night air. But that image is a fiction: I’ve never experienced that perfect (for me) combination of the warmth of home at Christmas. And all I have to do is turn on the BBC World Service to be reminded that for millions of people around the world – and more than a few in my neighborhood – that image is not merely fiction: it is unimaginable.
Because the truth is that pain and evil and disease and hunger and war and suffering do not take a break for the holy-days. For every family buying a turkey, there is another getting low on food stamps. For every family wrapping presents, there’s another wrapping dressings on open wounds. For every family overwhelmed with joy, there are dozens more overwhelmed with pain. British rocker Chris Rea sings a song in which a little girl is distraught after watching the news, and says to her papa, “Tell me there’s a heaven. Tell me that it’s true. Tell me there’s a reason why I’m seeing what I do.” At the end of the song, after watching those same images on the screen, Rea sings, “And I’m watching them, in tears of pain. And I’m watching them suffer. Don’t tell that little girl…tell me.” Tell me there’s a heaven. Tell me that it’s true. Tell me that one day there will be an end to the tears, to the sorrow, to the suffering.
At Christmas we celebrate the incarnation – this scandalous belief that God took on flesh and moved into the neighborhood with us 2,000 years ago. That the kingdom of heaven came with the person of Jesus, “joy of heaven, to earth come down,” as we sing in the beloved carol. And Jesus did do heavenly, remarkable things. He healed the sick. Fed the hungry. Even raised the dead. But not all of them. Just a few, truth be told. And 2,000 years on, people are still sick, still hungry, still die. We live in a world filled with pain, and suffering and injustice, a world awash with tears. So what exactly are we waiting for this advent season?
Yes, we wait for Christmas – the reminder that the kingdom of heaven has come with the birth of Jesus: but not in its fullness. Not yet. So we also wait for the second advent: the return of the King. For the day that Jesus revealed to John, who described it thus: “Then I saw a new heaven, and a new earth… And I heard a loud voice from the throne say, ‘Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people… He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death,or mourning, or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away… Behold! I am making all things new!’”
This is the home we’ve never known, but for which we yearn. This is the vision of a world none of us have ever seen, but which we dream of. A world of peace and justice and a place of unending joy: not just for a few days at Christmas, but for all eternity. A vision for which many have not been content to wait without working for those things this side of eternity. A dream Nelson Mandela shared with Martin Luther King Jr. A dream of which Irish rockers U2 sang in their song about Aung San Suu Kyi, “You’re packing a suitcase for a place none of us has been. A place that has to be believed to be seen.”
Perhaps you’ll join me in singing this advent song while we wait: working to come home together.
Come, Lord, and tarry not; bring the long looked for day;
O why these years of waiting here, these ages of decay?
Come, for Thy saints still wait; daily ascends their sigh;
The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come”; doest Thou not hear the cry?
O come and make all things new! Come and make all things new!
Build up this ruined earth, come and make all things new.
Come, for creation groans, impatient of Thy stay,
Worn out with these long years of ill, these ages of delay.
Come, for love waxes cold, its steps are faint and slow;
Faith now is lost in unbelief, hope’s lamp burns dim and low.
O come and make all things new! Come and make all things new!
Build up this ruined earth, come and make all things new.
~ Horatius Bonar
Bio
Sean Gladding is a member of Common Life in Lexington, Kentucky, where he and his family are learning to love God and their neighbors as themselves. He is the author of The Story of God, the Story of Us and TEN: Words of Life for an Addicted, Compulsive, Cynical, Divided and Worn-out Culture.
Welcome home
After reading an excerpt from the referenced book by Alfred Edersheim, it brought home to rest in my own heart what I haven’t been able to pin point pertaining to where I am at this point in life.
I grew up a military brat- so the nomad is in my blood and until I married, I never stopped moving around- I know my mom was the same- but where ever we moved, our house or where she was – always was home- it was the feel, the smells, the decor, the plants but mainly the love. Where our fondest memories are, lay the thoughts of home –
When Joseph and Mary left to register w the census – I wonder, did they feel the sense of home or homelessness or were they at peace just to be together? To fulfill that which was foretold they traveled far to find a home in which they weren’t sure about. Out of trust and love Mary follows her husband, their fate and the baby’s fate is truly given over to faith.
Which brings me to what has been on my heart of late; even while outcast or a stranger in a place- how are you ever truly at home?
Then Angel came to the shepherds who are set apart from everyone else- and made them know they were special- showed them the way-
As a farmer, I know the spiritual struggle and balancing of “keeping the Lords day sacred”– I can imagine how others looked at them who had to work to keep the special sheep up to par-
I’ve learned to overdo the day before so that minimal is done on the Sabbath- and what can’t be avoided is prayed over and done to His Glory with thanks- but for an Angel to appear before them- in the middle of their watch to show them the way, this told them the way was the way home for them- even though they were outcast- they now have a home –
I think the saying “you can’t go home again” falls just short of the truth really. If we stop looking hard enough and look within we’ll see home never really left US
And though Joseph was a carpenter, and Mary was a child of God bearing the Son of God and man. Together they gave our Father a home. He in turn gave us a home in Him-
So I say to all, whose nests are empty , who have roamed to and fro searching, who are unsure of where their journey has taken them, and who just can’t make out their surroundings or are surrounded by everything alien – stop for a moment and look , listen- the signs say it all where ever we are. Welcome Home-
~~~
Reference- Alfred Edersheim
From “The Life and Times of Jesus the Masiah”
Book II chapter 6 line 20-23states:
A passage in the Mishnah20 leads to the conclusion, that the flocks, which pastured there, were destined for Temple-sacrifices,21 and, accordingly, that the shepherds, who watched over them, were not ordinary shepherds. (**21. In fact the Mishnah (Baba K. vii. 7) expressly forbids the keeping of flocks throughout the land of Israel, except in the wilderness – and the only flocks otherwise kept, would be those for the Temple-services (Baba K. 80 a)
The latter were under the ban of Rabbinism,22 on account of their necessary isolation from religious ordinances, and their manner of life, which rendered strict legal observance unlikely, if not absolutely impossible. The same Mishnic passage also leads us to infer, that these flocks lay out all the year round, since they are spoken of as in the fields thirty days before the Passover – that is, in the month of February, when in Palestine the average rainfall is nearly greatest.23 Thus, Jewish tradition in some dim manner apprehended the first revelation of the Messiah from that Migdal Eder, where shepherds watched the Temple-flocks all the year round. Of the deep symbolic significance of such a coincidence, it is needless to speak.
Bio
I have a small farm with my husband in NE Fla., where we grow lavender as well as an array of four legged and feathered babies- I am a writer and photographer – and I have a passion for cooking. As an artist my outdoor kitchen is my favourite pallet in which to create. Though it’s not much by worldly standards, I know, through it all, I have been truly blessed by our Father.
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