Christmas...the birth of peace

From Luke 2:
⁸ And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹ An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. ¹¹ Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” ¹³ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

Glory to God and on earth...peace. The end of hostility between man and God. Freedom from strife. Peace.

I hear that word--peace--and I wonder. Where? How? How, when people cease living and choose dying? How, when money squeezes tight and families fall apart? How, when children cry alone at night, without family, without hope? Peace? ...how?

And yet that's why Jesus came, right? For peace. For reunification between God and mankind.

Once again, as the remembrance of that birth draws near, I sit still and listen. I sit with the shepherds in that long-ago field and cry out with the angels, "Glory to God!" And I whisper with desperation, "Please, God! Bring your peace!" Bring peace to this broken world.

"For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace" (Isaiah 9:6).

Even as I sit, I hear His gentle whisper in response: "Seek peace and pursue it" (Psalm 34:14).

He is here. He is among us...God incarnate. The Prince of Peace. I wonder, "Where is peace?" And he answers:
I am here.

THAT, my friends, is good news.

This Christmas, I am crying for a deeper longing to seek and pursue the Prince of Peace...to facilitate the collision of this world's brokenness with the very heart of God.

Wishing you a very joyful celebration of the Lord's birth...And may you find yourself seeking and pursuing the Prince of Peace this Christmas season.

Christmas...and clinging to the vine

Sometimes I find it hard to put into words what has been going on in my life. I have been home in Indiana (yes, amidst hay bales and cornfields...beautiful if you look at them the right way!) for Christmas.

It has been a special Christmas, mostly because I have taken the time to truly soak in the beauty that brilliantly laces the life God has given me. It has been such a blessing to just BE, to play games and sip tea and read books and enjoy moments of calm with my family. I have loved seeing new glimpses into the ways God is working in the hearts and lives of my brothers and sisters.

This year, God has begun the work of opening my eyes to the beauty in "mundane" life. On Christmas morning, while most of the house still slept (teenagers, mind you), I set out on a walk...the slow kind that leaves room for conversations with Jesus. I was so blessed to see the roads empty and looking like this:
In a way, I kind of got to spend Christmas with my dad...or at least, the snow was a constant reminder of him = ) I also loved receiving this love-kiss from God:
Watching the sun rise through the ice-covered trees was like getting a letter in the mail from God, gently saying, "My mercies are new every morning...and great is my faithfulness!"

Of course, it was wonderful to return from my walk to this:and this...
Simply a wonderful day with family, remembering God's incredible love packaged in the form of Jesus! A gift two thousand years ago...a gift for me today and tomorrow. He is faithful indeed.

If I allowed myself to, I could be overcome by nervous energy and anxiety. I start school again (after a long break...like 3 months long) in 5 days. I am reminded almost constantly of my inadequacy, of my desperate need for the VINE. I am so thankful I can be a branch and not a vine, that I can turn to Him for strength and courage and grace when I most need it.

I was reminded recently that I cannot live in a state of complacency. God clearly led me to nursing school, but I can't assume that I'll just fly through with no challenges or redirection. I cannot fall into the trap of relying on my own strength to complete what is before me. And I desperately don't want to. In 2010, I saw God provide for me in miraculous ways. I experienced what it was like to throw myself completely into God's hands. I passed tests and skills checks and board exams I shouldn't have passed on my own. As I head into 2011, I find myself once again on my knees, begging Jesus to remind me, once again, of these words:

"I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing" (John 15:5).
Bring on 2011!


This year, Lord willing, I am anticipating:
*what?! I'm gonna be 21?!
*147 million minus one! A special baby finally coming HOME forever!
*a medical mission trip to Guatemala...more on that soon
*completing 4 of 6 remaining quarters of school
*learning more than I could ever fathom now
*continued healing from a grief that began 1.5 years ago
*continued growth in my relationship with Jesus...a daily journey I am thrilled to be taking!

Honestly, I'm more excited about what is NOT on that list...Never know what twists and turns God will throw in my plans!

Tell me about your Christmas...and what you are looking forward to as 2011 nears!

Christmas: A Wailing Package of Hope

Boy. 'Tis the season...to be SICK!
Since my head is clogged
(sorry for the graphic language...),
I thought I would share a post
I wrote last Christmas season.
Although sometimes it seems
so abstract to me,
I am praying that Jesus
continues to open my heart
and prepare me
to celebrate His birthday.
How are you preparing for Christmas?

oh, and if you are a camera junkie,
check out THIS giveaway...cute
camera strap!

***********************************

Christmas, the day we celebrate God incarnate, is just 2 days away. And yet, as I walk the dirty, snow-crusted sidewalks of Chicago, a great tsunami of sadness beaches atop my soul. Here we are, 2000 years past that stable birth, and creation still groans in longing for what she does not recognize to be among her folded skirts.

My cardboard Starbucks beverage container is printed with these words, in festive "holiday" colors: "We invite you to listen to your desires and to renew your hope. To see the world not as it is, but as it could be. Go ahead, wish. Its what makes the holidays the holidays."

If only we WOULD listen to our deepest desires, desires we have tried to kill, stifle, and silence since before we knew they screamed. If only we WOULD hope--not the kind of hoping that wishes for what cannot be, but the kind that rests in what WILL be. If only we would stop searching for what cannot be found--a world "as it could be"--and opened our eyes to the depravity of what is. Only in such a reality can we relish in the beauty of the gift birthed centuries ago--a gift that still echoes with the strains of a beautiful love song: "Hold on, Love. Don't give up now. A covering for your naked soul is here."

My sadness is cradled in that little phrase: "It's what makes the holidays the holidays." What? Wishes? Impossible utterings begging the unknown? Seeing the world through rose-colored lenses of naive imagination? The "holidays" are most certainly a bleak reminder for some of longings never to be satisfied. This is what I know: A baby King, God's human form, born in a filthy cave-barn, is what makes CHRISTMAS Christmas. A letter sent to man from his Creator, promising redemption, salvation from an invisible bondage inflicting visible pain. A wailing, pink flesh of HOPE--promises fulfilled, with a P.S. tag reading "LOVE is among you." Yes, Jesus is what makes "the holidays the holidays." He is the reason I can look into the sad eyes of so many I encounter, trying to follow instructions and "wish for what could be" but never will be, and say on the wings of a prayer, "Merry Christmas!"

For some, it will be just another day of heartache and loneliness, an always-present reminder of all they have to wish for. And it was to them that perfect, squalling package was addressed.

Amid the tidings of wishes and false hope this Christmas, aim to be a faithful deliverer of that package to those who need it most.