This is Love

 

Some think Valentine's Day love is what is to be celebrated today, but there's something else on the calendar that represents a much deeper, less fickle affection.

Is there anything more wonderful than the beginning of a sacred holiday season? No, there is not. 

The wonder of these sacred holidays is that they simply cannot be fully appreciated and celebrated in just one day (or two if stretched). Not if you want a robust, meaningful celebration at the end - on The Day, that is.

Today marks the 40-day journey toward Easter; Lent begins. Lent is to Easter what Advent is to Christmas - preparation of the heart. A slowing down and remembering just what it is we are annually commemorating.

The focus of Lent is three-fold: the disciplines of fasting, prayer and giving to the poor. 

It's a time to remember Jesus' ministry on earth, why He came. To bring yourself back to where you were and the shape you were in when He called you into relationship with Him and His Father, God Himself. To recall your sinful state and helplessness to save yourself, your need of a savior. The utter joy of being rescued from sin and self and the beginning of a new life in Christ.

I like how Charles Spurgeon puts it:

"Hold a true Lent in your souls, while you sorrow over your hardness of heart. 

Do not stop at sorrow! Remember where you first received salvation. 

Go at once to the cross...this will bring us back to our first love; 

this will restore the simplicity of our faith, and the tenderness of our heart."*

I love that! And I know I could use the reminder, the redirect of my gaze from so many distractions and even from the hardening of a prideful, self-centered heart that shifts sometimes without intention, sometimes with.

Repentance is not a four-letter word. It's a gift. We should welcome it as such. Definition: deep sorrow, contrition or regret over sin, wrongdoing or the like.

It is good for us to spend some time mulling over this dark area of our lives. Trust me, it's not negative because every sin has already been forgiven by Jesus' death and resurrection - do you see where this is going? - to be celebrated on Easter Sunday.

So, let's do the work (is it work?) of walking the road to the cross with Jesus. Taking a long look inside, telling Him what we see, saying we're sorry. Entering into His suffering with gratitude. Enjoying His friendship. Forty days really isn't too long. Most worthwhile benefit usually needs a measure of time, not merely a day.

He is eager to receive us if we've been gone awhile. In John 6:37, Jesus says, "...whoever comes to me, I will never cast out." That's a promise. We have nothing to fear.

I find Lenten fasts refreshing. They breathe new life where boredom or spiritual laziness has crept in. Hard at times, of course - that's the point - revealing what has a hold on me. Whatever I "give up", I replace with a new or more frequent prayer practice and increased Bible reading (the Gospels!).  Emptying and denying for a while bring sharpness and clarity in hearing and understanding the Bible and in prayer. It's supernatural and marvelous, I can't explain it. 

I heard it said once, we thin our lives to thicken our devotion to God, our Father who loves us. 

Spiritual muscles are strengthened. Less time is spent worrying about getting my needs and wants fulfilled and I notice others, try to meet theirs if I can.

I wrote in my journal this morning that I'm hoping for transformation during these 40 days. That I might take on more of the character of Jesus, think more like He does, say things He might say, do what He does. Love better. Less of me, more of Him. 

I wrote about death to Angela a few weeks ago if you missed it. This is the stuff Lent is about. 

Here's the thing, Resurrection Sunday is coming. Honoring it needs to be so much more than just a new pastel outfit, a basket full of candy, going to church and family brunch after. 

Imagine how thrilling the living Jesus and empty tomb you celebrate will be after you've considered your life in honest awareness, confession and repentance of your sins; denied self and decadent indulgences, making room in your busy life for prayer; noticed and generously given to those in need; and entered into the weight of Jesus' suffering and sorrow for a season. This is Love.

Truly, this is the most important holiday of all and we want to be ready to celebrate it with gusto!

Go ahead, enjoy your red foil-wrapped chocolates and other goodies today, given and received in love.

More importantly, may the memory of your entry into faith with your true First Love draw you into a most meaningful Easter season.

*Celebrating the Christian Year by Martha Zimmerman, p. 107

Put it to Death

 In my Bible reading plan last week, I found Job at the end of his responses to his friends' accusations and advice (chapter 31) and his rope, I think. Not only does our suffering friend vigorously defend his reputation (the good old days when people respected me!), but he demands a trial before God. 

Cue the dramatic music. The app host teaches that this indicates pride and entitlement issues even though Job is earlier declared righteous by God. These are betrayed by the crisis Job finds himself in and God is about to deal with them. She went on, "Some trials reveal deep seated issues as nothing else can."

The air went out of my little library I sit in every morning. Don't I know that from experience? Yes, I surely do. Or to put it plain - ain't that the truth? It's been a soul-revealing first weeks of the year and what I've found in the mirror isn't pretty.

Oh, the love/hate relationship with pride and entitlement. Of course, I don't love either - at least I don't say so - but they come out to play when I'm not paying attention.

I'm revisiting a book I read last January - a recommendation from my grown children - to start off my goals for spiritual growth in 2024. It's been glorious and breathtaking (read everything into that) in equal doses. 

Based on the following verses:

I have been crucified with Christ. Gal. 2:20

..knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin. Romans 6:6

Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Gal. 5:24

And He (Jesus) was saying to them all, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me." Luke 9:23

Have this attitude in yourselves, which was also in Christ Jesus, who emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant...humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Phil. 2:5-7

Did you catch the theme? The Bible tells me when I entered into faith in Christ, I, too was crucified on Jesus' cross. My old self was slain there. "Christ's death and mine are so intertwined as to be inseparable."

Because of this, "God is committed to my dying every day, and He calls me to that same commitment. I should expect every day to encounter circumstantial evidence of God's commitment to my dying; and I must seize every God-given opportunity to be conformed more fully to Christ's death no matter the pain involved."

When was the last time you heard a sermon like this? Challenged to accept that mission? Speaking for myself, we like being conformed to Christ's life, but don't talk much about what being conformed to His death looks like. 

Yet, putting certain things to death has been a sacred echo in my private life for some months now (see Colossians 3). And I know it's a direct answer to my daily prayers to become more like Jesus; to take on the character of Jesus in every area.

The author continues with this possibly painful list (it was for me at 1st, 2nd and 3rd glance - if I'm honest):

"When my flesh yearns for some prohibited thing, I must die.
When called to do something I don't want to do, I must die.
When I wish to be selfish and serve no one, I must die.
When shattered by hardships that I despise, I must die.
When wanting to cling to wrongs done against me, I must die.
When enticed by allurements of the world, I must die.
When wishing to keep habitual sins secret, I must die.
When wants that are borderline needs are left unmet, I must die.
When dreams that are good seem shoved aside, I must die.

'Not My will, but Yours be done,' Christ trustingly prayed on the eve of His crucifixion."

It's ok if you just need to sit with that for a few minutes. I certainly did and do.

Jesus' prayer is the model prayer every true believer and follower of Jesus must adopt. Harsh? Unfair? Unrealistic? Of course not!  

The truths of Christ's resurrection prove that God will not leave me for dead but also raise me to new life too - if only I will allow my "self" to die.

"Indeed, on the other side of each layer of dying lie experiences of a life with God that are far richer, far higher, and far more intimate than anything I would have otherwise known." That's what I'm talking about!

Jesus said it in Luke 9:24, "Whoever wishes to save his life will  lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he shall find it."

It's a good word of teaching to identify with Jesus' death as our own - what we are called to - and that is how we join with Christ and all His promises for new life and life to the fullest! No pain, no surrender, and no death is wasted with God. 

Well, I don't know about you, but that's the life I want. All these things I struggle to let go of (die to), pale in comparison to being free from the power they hold over me.  Of course! Brilliant!

Jesus knows the way to abundant life. He said it Himself: "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."* Always with the invitation to come and see.

The thing I love about Job - when confronted with his pride and entitlement, his first humble, repentant response in 40:3-5 was: 

"I'm speechless, in awe - words fail me.
I should never have opened my mouth!
I've talked too much, way too much.
I'm ready to shut up and listen."

Anybody (else) relate?

And then a few chapters later in 42:2-6:

"I know that you can do all things.,
and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
'Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?'
Therefore, I have uttered what I did not understand,
things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.
'Hear, and I will speak; I will question you, and you will make it known to me.'
I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eyes see you;
 therefore, I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes."

Job's is the proper response to God's questions for sure. I don't believe God wishes us to despise ourselves per se, but our "self" (selfish, contrary to His Spirit appetites, desires and demands) is what needs to be put to death so we can really live.

A healthy dose of who we are and who He is goes a long way in correcting course. Job knows and we can know too.

I wrote my response down so I won't forget.

Father,

How can one learn these truths about you and not ask 'how am I doing'? We both know the answer. Confession and repentance are appropriate and required. I offer that humbly and receive the forgiveness I know you freely give because Jesus purchased it for me on the cross. Put to death anything in me that rears up and demands "give me what I want, when I want, how much I want and the way I want it" or thinks any of this is about me. Like Job, I've talked too much and I'm ready to be quiet and listen.

I wish to be overpowered and subdued by you. Following Jesus is my top priority. You get to decide where we go. Everything IN YOU. As Jesus prayed: not my will, but yours be done. You chose me because you love me and have a plan for my life. It's a good one - far greater than these ridiculous things I think I need and can't live without. Take your time enfolding it. I'll try not to rush you. It's yours. I'm yours. Time is yours. Thank you for including me. Thank you for loving me. That's all I need. 

Love, 

Angela

As soon as the words were out of my mouth a smile creeped across my face. Why, I wondered. Because peace came. I was carrying some heavy burdens and a load too heavy, now transferred to the only one who could bear the weight. I felt lighter and with it came joy. 

I'm so thankful our Father is committed to maturing and changing His children, making us new. Even committed to my dying every day so I can be conformed more fully to Jesus. My job - to cooperate, participate, pursue.

Death first, then the resurrection life. Sign me up. Death to Angela!

*John 14:6

All quotes from A Gospel Primer for Christians by Milton Vincent

The Christmas That Was and Still Is

Oh this week between Christmas and the new year. It's brutal. So disorienting. Does anyone even know what day it is? Number or name? My lesson learned and note to self: take this week off work in every year to come. 

Many I know have moved on from Christmas or are ready to. I grimace when I hear that trees are down or coming down and decor packed up for another eleven months. "The weather is so warm; a good time to get the lights down before they freeze into the ground or onto the house." Reasonable, but here in the northeast we haven't had a kickin' snowstorm yet!

What's the rush? Take it down for what?

I may or may not have said to my husband a few days ago, "I still have to make a popcorn garland for the tree!", to which I received an over the top of the glasses look and question, "still"? 

I kid. 

I think.

It's clear I'm not done or ready to move on. (I never am at this stage.) Too much went on in the month of December and it happened too quickly. (Always does.) Abrupt endings don't work for me. I must process and savor it with a journal and pen and thanksgiving, surrounded by pine trees, white lights and Christmas carols. Throw in some orange cranberry bread and candles lit, and you have one content girl. 

Technically, Christmas is still going you know. I saw a meme on Instagram last night that made me smile, hi five the air and shout Amen!

Keep Calm 

It's Still Christmas 

Until Epiphany

Yes it is. Happy 6th Day of Christmas to you this fine Saturday morning! We have six more days of celebrating to go. Oh that we actually celebrated all twelve starting on the 25th - maybe someday. A girl can dream.

One thing I love is an Advent devotional that lives on for a few days after Christmas. Enjoy this excerpt (dated 12/30) with me.

"One of the [strangest] things about our own topsy-turvy time is that we all hear such a vast amount about Christmas just before it comes, and suddenly hear nothing at all about it afterwards. Everybody writes about what a glorious Christmas we are going to have. Nobody, or next to nobody, ever writes about the Christmas we have just had. I am going to plead for a longer period to find out what was really meant by that Christmas; and a fuller consideration of what we have really found."*

Can I get an amen? And let's change that.

Maybe we could just take a minute or two and remember December and our Advent waiting and wondering. 

• What did we experience? 
• How did God show up? 
• What did we learn? 
• What should we write down to repeat next year? 
• What do we not want to forget to tell our littles for years to come? 
• Did we start a new tradition? 
• Do we need to write a thank you note? 
• Did we forget someone? Not too late to bring a gift, schedule a visit, send a card.

The girls at work asked me what I was going to do this weekend and I said, I need a whole day to myself. I plan to sit, to remember, to pray, to confess, to ask, to write, to think, to dream, to wonder, to listen, to wait, to plan. 

To wrap 2023 up in my journal and my heart and start 2024 with new goals (don't recoil from this awesome action word!) and rhythms to implement.

"It would behoove us to remember that an ending is also a new beginning, a chance to be born again. The object of a New Year is not that we should have a new year. It is that we should have a new soul and a new nose; new feet, a new backbone, new ears, and new eyes. Reality, as designed by God, testifies to this truth: darkness precedes dawn. Sleep precedes wakefulness. Every morning His mercies are new, as the day is new, as we are new. The land endures the harshness of winter in order to be reborn in the vigor of spring. Everywhere we look, nature is rehearsing resurrection, preparing for the day when all things will be made new, when measurable time gives way to immeasurable eternity."**

You see why we need more days after Christmas Day? I needed that reminder this morning and tomorrow and the next. Maybe you did too? I pray for all that awareness in my life in the new year. 

Savor with me one more time before you say goodbye to Christmas 2023 and turn the calendar page to 2024 what this God of ours - so deserving of our honor - has done for us:

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 
but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son,

whom He appointed the heir of all things, 
through whom also He created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God 
and the exact imprint of His nature,

and He upholds the universe by the word of His power. 
After making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high..." 
Hebrews 1:1-3

you know it is a good verse
when it makes the pantry door

Father, as one year comes to a close and a new year is upon us, I'm looking for your help in controlling my emotions which can be all over the map this last week. Sometimes eager to put the current year with its pain and regrets in the rear-view mirror and move to the next with rose colored glasses; and other times quick to put the brakes on reminiscing with fondness the goodness of the past year, not in a hurry to move on quite yet. This verse reminds me that Jesus is the radiance of your glory, the exact imprint of your nature and He upholds the whole universe - past and future in His hands, making Him worthy of my trust. His kingdom will have no end, so I have nothing to worry about and nothing to fear in the year ahead. You make all things new. In this new year, put to death the things in me that need to die and make me new - able to receive your love in new ways and give it to others in new ways too. 

With eyes fixed on Jesus who looks exactly like You, I pray these things with a thankful grin.

Amen.

P.S. I know you keep untold volumes of snow (Job 38:22). Can we have some?

___________

*A Winter's Tale by G.K. Chesterton p.131

**same as above p.128

The Gift of December Darkness

These dark mornings, I love them so. Some can't deal with this December feature, but I weirdly look forward to it all year. I've found a kindred spirit in author, Barbara Mahany. She's written a book called "The Stillness of Winter" and I read it annually. It's not an Advent devotional, but she mentions this glorious season. Sometimes someone else puts your words on paper better than you ever could.

If I didn't have a job to go to each morning, I would call a friend and extend an invitation to come over for coffee and some cranberry orange bread (recipe found in this wonderful book) and read the following selection. I mean, I have to share it with someone it's so good. 

So, here it is for you. Enjoy.

"I am practicing Advent. Really practicing. Paying attention. Giving in to the season in ways that wash over me, seep into me, bring me back home to a place I may never have been.

Like a child this year, I have a just-opened sense of these days.

I am, for the very first time, not counting down. Not ticking off days and errands to run like a clock wound too tightly.

Instead, I am counting in a whole other way. I am counting, yes, but the thing that I'm doing is making count each one of the days. I am counting the days in a way that takes time. That takes it and holds it. Savors it. Sucks out the marrow of each blessed hour.

I am this year embracing the darkness. I am kindling lights. I am practicing quiet. I am shutting out noise and filling my house with the sounds of the season that call me.

 I am practicing no. No is the word that I' saying to much of the madness. No, I cannot go there. No, I cannot race from one end of town to the other. No, I will not.

I am practicing yes.

Yes, I will wake up early. Will tiptoe alone, and in quiet, to down in the kitchen, and out to the place where the moon shines. Where the early bird hasn't yet risen. But I have. I am alone with the dark and the calm, and I am standing there watching the shadows, the lace of the moon. I am listening for words that fill up my heart. It's a prayer and it comes to me, fills my lungs, as I breathe in cold air, the air of December, December's most blessed breath.

Yes, I am redressing my house. I am tucking pinecones and berries red, in places that not long ago were spilling with pumpkins, walnuts and acorns.

I am waking up to the notion that to usher the season into my house is to awaken the sacred. It is to shake off the dust of the days just before. To grope for the glimmer amid all the darkness.

December, more than most any month, can go one of two ways.

One trail is all tangled, all covered with bramble. You can get lost, what with all of the noise and all of the bright colored lights.

But December, if you choose, if you allow it, can be the trail through the woods that leads to the light, far off in the distance.

The darkness itself offers the gift. Each day, the darkness comes sooner, comes deeper, comes blacker than ink. It draws us in, into our homes, yes, but more so, into our souls.

It invites us: light a light. Wrap a blanket. Sit by the fire. Stare into the flames, and onto the last dying embers. Consider the coming of Christmas.

I am, in this month of preparing, in this month of a story told time and again, listening anew to the words. I am considering the story of the travelers, the Virgin with Child, the donkey, the man with the tools, the unlikely trio, knocking and knocking at door after door.

I am remembering how, long, long, ago, I winced when I heard how no one had room. Open the door, I would shout deep inside. Make room. Make a room.

I didn't know then I could change it. I could take hold of the story; make it be just as it should be.

But I do now. I know now.

I am taking hold of that story, the way that it's told this December. I am, in the dark and the quiet, making the room that I longed for. For the three in the story, yes, but even for me.

I am preparing a room at the inn. The inn, of course, is my heart."

Ah, this is Advent. See what I mean? So good. Makes you want to get up earlier now, doesn't it?

Trust Me, It's Not Too Early

Finally, Halloween has passed, and we move closer to the good stuff. Daylight savings is over, which means we are on to cozy season: casseroles, candlelight, and pajamas at 6pm - or earlier.

I realize it's only the beginning of November and we still have Thanksgiving in front of us to celebrate. I really do. And you know I wholeheartedly practice delayed gratification - insisting on enjoying the season you find yourself in, not rushing the next. However, some require a smidge of advance planning to be ready for the first day of the new season.

What in the world am I talking about? Advent, of course, observed and honored during December - every day leading up to Christmas. In my mind, Advent brings the sacred to its rightful prominent position in our annual traditions. If we're not careful, we can let American hoopla eclipse - or replace, God forbid - the religious foundation, history and emphasis.

That's what started my journey toward Advent. One year during the frenzy of gift purchasing, decorating, baking and celebrating party after party (even multiple church events), I whispered a prayer to Jesus, "Does any of this matter to you? Are we doing this right? How could we celebrate your birthday in a way that honors and pleases you?"

My quest for something deeper led to a Christian bookstore where I purchased my first Advent devotional. Morning by morning through the month of December I soaked myself in the story of Jesus' first advent, His appearance on earth recorded from Genesis to the Gospels. It was glorious. So meaningful! So intentional! So clarifying.

The next December I bought a different devotional. Before I knew it, new family traditions started to take form and some old dropped. Any store-bought calendars with candy in daily slots went in the garbage - not Advent. 

The following year, I found Advent devotionals for the whole family, age appropriate. And on and on I could go (stop me sometime and I'll tell you all about it). 

Soon enough I learned a portion of celebrating Advent was looking back, and another component is looking forward to Jesus' second advent yet to come; the one we are longing for this very minute. It is good to position these events prominently in our minds this time of year. So good and necessary.

Advent is a slowing of pace to make room, to prepare our hearts for the coming of the Messiah: the baby who came to save us from our sins, to give us new life, eternal life with the Father. I've come to believe it's a crucial portion of Christmas celebrating, spending a whole month, not merely a Christmas Eve service or birthday party for Jesus, captivated by the sacred story. There's so much more to experience!

My obsession with sacred holidays has grown and widened as I study the formal church calendar (Advent - Christmas - Ordinary Time - Lent - Easter - Pentecost - Ordinary Time) seemingly lost to this present generation, rarely observed as it once was. It's intriguing and spiritually stimulating. I highly recommend we all educate ourselves to engaging in these practices on the regular.

So, why am I writing about this in November? Because Advent is one of those holidays that requires us to prepare....to prepare! 

 

In short, I'm tapping you on the shoulder and whispering that it may be too early to start Christmas shopping, but it's definitely the right time to choose an Advent guide for your journey this December now, lest it sneak up on you. Time is of the essence.

You may know by now I announced here and on social media in October that I wrote an Advent devotional this summer. It's a combined work of love; my years of Advent experiences and reflections along with my daughter-in-law Brittany's beautiful artwork on the cover and throughout the pages. We are excited to offer it to you.

Many of my friends and co-workers are buying copies for family members and friends to give as gifts to those they are spending Thanksgiving with or just for plain old "Pre-Christmas Gifts" (one of the chapter titles) to be given by December 1st when the season (and chapter one) starts. Such a fun idea! 

Regardless, for you or for others, just remember, December will be here before you know it, so don't wait too long. 

You can order a few ways. It is available on Amazon. But, if you order it from my website, I will know (and be so happy to see your name!) and will sign your copy and add a personal touch. If you are local, contact me for a personal delivery with no shipping charge. Also, I would love to give a discount for multiple copies. 

Either way, if you decide to spend Advent with Jesus and me this year, I hope you love it. I have been and will be praying for you for this truly is the most wonderful time of the year.