First Sunday of Advent

I had the privilege of going to an interchurch gathering yesterday. 11 churches were represented from Lutheran, United, Mennonite, to Catholic. It was a service celebrating the first Sunday of Advent. It's been a long time since I've been in a church that followed a liturgy and had congregational singing with only a piano. It brought me back to the days when I used to attend a more traditional church. It was really great.

What always amazes me about Advent is that it unifies congregations. It doesn't matter in that moment what brand of doctrine we believe because it is all about the coming of the saviour of all. And somehow that draws everyone together.

Isaiah 2:2-5 "In those days, the Temple of the LORD in Jerusalem will become the most important place on earth, People from all over the world will go there to worship. Many nations will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the Temple of the God of Israel. There He will teach us his ways , so that we may obey him. " For in those days the Lord's teaching and his word will go out from Jerusalem.

The Lord will settle international disputes. All the nations will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. All wars will stop, and military training will come to an end. Come, people of Israel, let us walk in the light of the LORD!" (NLT)

The unity shown last night is nothing compared to what is coming. The first Sunday of Advent, for me is a time of anticipation. Anticipation of the celebration of His first coming, anticipation of what He is doing in the earth now, and an even greater anticipation of His return.

Come LORD Jesus, Come!

"this is my brother darryl and my other brother darryl"

I have a lot of friends with same name.

For example this is what my day was like:
I left the house at 8:00 am and met my friend Deb for breakfast
I wondered the Forks and the mall for a while after that, and then met my friend Cheryl for a movie at which my other friend Deb was supposed to join us.
I then returned to my apartment where my friend Sheryl lives.
I got on to my facebook page and am playing scrabble with yet another Deb, and yet another Cheryl.

I just hope there isn't a Christmas party in which they all attend.

moses the murderer

I don't know about you, but when I think of Moses, I don't always think of him as a murderer. Not only was he guilty of murder, but then he became a fugitive. He ran away. As a child he was abandoned by his mother (to save his life, but abandoned all the same) was raised in a foster home, got the best education, but threw it all away when anger got the best of him.

Doesn't sound like the greatest candidate for leadership. His resume would most likely be thrown into the "recycle bin" in most companies.

But throw God into the picture and everything changes. God saved his life when his mother sent him up the river. God raised him up in Pharoah's company because he knew he would need to understand that world in later years. God saw him murder the egyptian and watched him flee, only to give him the experience of being a shepherd in the wilderness... another world he would have to understand.

It was in that place, knowing he was a murderer, knowing he had fled, knowing his past and everything about him that God chose to meet him. Moses was probably feeling like he had failed God, his family and his people, and was living out his days quietly as a shepherd and a father, a husband and a son in law.

But God saw more. He took him from that place of utter obscurity and placed him infront of Pharoah once again. He took him from the desert as a fugitive to the being a leader of a nation leading them through the desert. God saw his future, not his past. God entered into his life from the very beginning and shaped him through every circumstance.

God called Moses his friend.

I don't know about you, but THAT gives me hope.

Advent begins in 2 days. I pray that this season reminds us all that God sees our future and walks us through the now. So much so, that he sent Jesus to solidify our place with Him, so that all of us can be not only God's children, but also His friend.

more about expectations

I was thinking again about the expectations we put on people. This is a rather serious post and a longer than usual one, so if you are looking for something light and fun, this isn't the one to read right now :) though it may enlighten or at the very least encourage you.

There is a quote that fortunately or unfortunately was made famous by Drew Barrymore in "Ever After" that says:

"If you suffer your people to be ill-educated, and their manners corrupted from infancy, and then punish them for those crimes to which their first education disposed them, what else is to be concluded, sire, but that you first make thieves and then punish them?

I read the concept years ago in Thomas Moore's "Utopia" and went "hmmm, good point" and kept reading. Well, I was confronted with some of that logic today. Many of you know that I have been working in the inner city most of my adult life. From the time I was in college to my present job now, I have in some way wanted to impact the poor and less fortunate in our cities.

I met someone today who had a lot to say about that. He spoke about how the native community in our country is in the condition it is in because so much has been taken from them:

Treaties that have never been renogatiated as time passed, eventhough the needs and understandings of the communities had changed.

Residential schools that tore apart families, if not by force, then by introducing new language and new culture into the children only to return to their families and not "fit in" anymore, or not wanting to.

Land deals that took men who lived off the land and in the bush, and were prosperous and industrious and made them dependant on other institutions to take care of them.

And ultimately many of them leave their homes to come to the city to learn a new skill, or work in the industries, or simply because there is even less for them in their home towns.

So many of them end up in the poor areas of the city. Some of them end up on the street. Many of them are dependant on alcohol and drugs to just feel better, even if it's just for a little while.

I took in all that my new friend was sharing and it made me rethink how I look at the alcoholics and drug addicts that I know. Sometimes, even though I know this isn't the case, I expect that they should just be able to stop drinking. They should know how to "pull up their boot straps" and do what they need to do, and I get frustrated when they don't or chose not to.

But here is the problem. The list that my new friend gave me as to reasons why they don't "get better" makes sense. They are good reasons (not excuses). I myself have trouble just "doing what I need to do" for my own lists of reasons. But somehow, they are and I am expected to.
I'm not trying to say that people aren't responsible for their own actions, I am fully aware of the devestation that happens when people blame everyone else for their problems, but I think that there has to be a place for grace.

Expectation is the mother of disappointment. (I didn't come up with that)

What is the opposite of expectation? I've come to realize that for me, it's grace and acceptance. Grace takes into account the situation and accepts the person anyway. YES I want to challenge the status quo in the lives of my friends AND in my own life, but I need to remember the factors that got them there. Expectations, no unfair expectations without grace cause all of us to misunderstand.

Now, what does ANY of this have to Advent?

Everything. God has a level of expectation of His creation as well. It's called the law. Obviously none of us will live up to that law at least according to Romans 3:23. It's ONLY through God's grace and acceptance of us that salvation was even possible. So once again, as always it comes down to love. (John 3:16). God loves me, I love God, myself and my neighbour. Give without expecting anything in return.

So as Sunday and the first official day of Advent approaches, my prayer is that rather than unfair expectations of others, myself and even of God... I pray for grace and acceptance for myself and others, and trust in the God who loves me.

Well, I've decided to blog again. Not so much for anyone else, but more for me.
I am always a little more introspective, and well, pensive this time of year. Part of that comes from where I work and seeing how the weather changing affects the homeless and those at risk.
But it's more about expectations.

Christmas time means warm feelings and eggnog,
presents and times with family
Christmas songs playing in the mall and Santa making the rounds (Cuz if there is only one Santa Clause, he sure is busy!)
Kids bright eyed and making their list
etc and etc.

Don't get me wrong, if you know me at all you know I LOVE the Christmas season and am biting at the bit to get my tree up and decorate with all the pretty lights. I love to drink the eggnog, buy Christmas presents, and wandering the mall? My favourite passtime at Christmas.

But it's the EXPECTATION that it is all going to be wonderful. It's the EXPECTATION that everyone should be with family and be happy about it. The problem is, the expectation is rarely what it turns out to be.

Some of us are not able to go home for Christmas, and for many people home isn't exactly the place "celebrations" happen. Not all the things on the list are going to be under the tree, and gratefulness isn't always the response to presents anyway.

See, but that is where God is different. He created us with expectation in us for HIM. For his coming, and ultimately for his return. So this year, I want to focus on EXPECTING Jesus. Advent is such an amazing time of year. It's not about what Christmas has become. It's about what God intended to bring us back to --a place where we can meet him face to face -- talk about expectation :)

So this year, instead of telling you all the Christmas movies I'm watching, I'm going to go through Advent with you, if you want to come along. Who knows what to expect!

So, I'm back to blogging, and I'm filled with expectation!

humbled

Yesterday was my 37th birthday.
I was at work for most of it and really was glad I was there. One of the "poets" in our midst wrote a poem for me and many of the patrons signed a couple of cards for me. It was very sweet. One of the guys went to his place and returned with a gift wrapped in newspaper and black hockey tape. (electrical tape for you americans unfamiliar with hockey hehehe). As I opened the gift, it was a 3d style picture of a deer in the woods. It wasn't necessarily something I would have picked out myself, but it was something that was on his wall, and he wanted to give me something. I was humbled. He gave of the little he had, and it means the world to me. I still haven't figured out where I will hang it, but I will because I am honoured!

Then I went to see Mama Mia with my friend! And as a side note... LOVED IT! I needed a good light fun movie and that is what it was! Thanks Cheryl!

wierd day.

Have you ever just had a day when all is just wierd? It was a good day, a quiet day at work, which is few and far between so in that sense it was wierd. But it was more than that. My brain today was all over the map. It started with a strange doc's appointment... far too odd to describe, let's just say it was... interesting. Then a long wait for the medication refills, which required a call to work saying I would be late. Then walking from there to work and running into more patrons on the street than I did at work today, and a day at work that went both fast and slow. It's just been one of those days I guess. Maybe if I just go lay down and sleep it will all be better in the morning. night!

Pray and serve... together... again...

I had a really good day at work today. It wasn't so much because it was a quiet, uneventful day, though of course that helps, but it was more because I felt focused and clear about my purpose in being there.

In our devotions at work we talked about Colossians 4:2-6, and verse 12. They are verses primarily about prayer being vigilant (NKJV) to pray, with thanksgiving, but also to pray for Paul, who was in chains for the gospel. He asks specifically for them to pray SO THAT there would be an open door for the word, that he might speak it in a way that it is made manifest in the earth. Then verse 12 is about Epaphras, who labored fervorantly (NKJV) or wrestled (NIV) in prayer that the Colossians would stand perfect and complete in the will of God.

First of all, I know that I tend to talk about prayer alot, and that is because it is very important to me, but these verses helped me in my continuous struggle of how to bring prayer and ministry to and with the poor together.

Prayer softens the ground... it opens doors for the gospel to go forward, it once again is a both and! Then it is all about thanksgiving, thanking God for what he is already doing, coming into line with that and making His Word known. And my favourite part of all of this is verse 12. Some truly are called to LABOR INTENSELY or WRESTLE in prayer for others.

Secondly (or are we on thirdly?) Paul was in prison when he wrote this and his admonishion to those in Colosae was to allow Jesus to BE thier life, to put off old things and put on the new, to pray, to speak boldly, and to act with wisdom, and speak with grace. There is not a seperation of some do one and some do the other, we are called to ALL. But at the same time, ones like Epaphras had a great zeal to pray for those he loved and worked alongside, and ministered to. That is who I want to be.

So today, as I was at work, I could rest in the knowlege that YES, feeding the poor and caring for others and attempting to restore dignity IS a large part of my calling in life, AND right alongside it is to pray for doors to be open, for ground to be softened, and to labor intensely and wrestle in prayer for the ones God puts on my heart.

When I came back from Kansas City a couple of weeks ago, I knew that God was stirring much in my heart. I want to see a prayer room developed for the poor, the addicts, the broken in whatever way that looks like in the inner city, like Hope City and yet whatever that would look like here in Winnipeg. Today (amongst other things) has strengthened that resolve.

I'm sure there is much more to say on this in the future. I ask now though, that those of you who are faithful readers of this blog, would pray... that the doors may be open and that I may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God, but especially in regards to a "New Hope City" here in Winnipeg.

And so the journey begins

cool pic

my niece Jenna took this picture. I love it!

What would you do for 14 1/2 hours?

some people read (gloria)

Some play video games (Benj) Some people are fascinated by the scenery (allie)
Some people drive (stephen) well I think he was driving...
Once the ride gets longer... some people fight (I had NOTHING to do with this picture!)

And others, well... play with their hair

But most importantly... we all cried out "COW"