The Call to Love

**Please take one minute to sit, breathe deeply and seek quiet.**

    Humble, Dependent, Risky, Persevering. Love requires all this and then some. How in the world can we live the call to love as God loved us? It is easy for me to love when I am in a good mood or when the person receives my love without complaint and demand. It is easy for me to love when I receive recognition or get something in return. I would argue that this is not really love, at least love for God or another. This is me loving me.
    To be realistic (I know, you’ve come to expect that of me J), all of our love is mixed with a bit of self-love. I have not decided if this is a necessarily an all-bad thing, I just know it’s a real thing. Even if our love is mixed, we try to love, we attempt at humility and dependence. We take risks and we stay. We love like Jesus by humbling ourselves before him, depending on him, not calculating and persevering knowing that love wins and is greater than anything else.
    The call to love is challenging, it is mixed and it is not perfect but it is our call. Let us live a life of love that is more and more reflective of Jesus and we grow in believing His great love for us.


**Please take as much time as is possible to sit and reflect.**

Love is Risky

**Please take one minute to sit, breathe deeply and seek quiet.**

    We tend to be people that calculate. What is worth what, how much should we pay for this or that, how much time should we spend with a person, money spent, energies, etc. Calculating is okay but often our calculating trickles down to other areas in which it shouldn’t, including love.
    To love means we open ourselves up to the possibility of loss, to pain, to hurt and suffering. To love means we take a risk, because love does not function in addition, subtraction, multiplication or division. Love does not fit into numbers or measurements. It is wide, it is deep, it is long, it is high. The dimensions of love cannot be calculated.
    Yet it feels safe to calculate, to control. Yes, love is risky so we calculate it. We calculate how much we can give without getting hurt or least hurt. We hold back in fear of losing something or someone. We do not always calculate love but sometimes we do. This human response to self-protect is understandable. I want to prevent pain.
    Love is risky, yes. It means letting go of my deep, legitimate desire to prevent pain. It means considering that love is greater, deeper and richer than pain. Love is worth it and love does win.

**Please take as much time as is possible to sit and reflect.**

Jesus Stayed

**Please take one minute to sit, breathe deeply and seek quiet.**

“Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human.” Philippians 2:6-7 – The Message

    He stayed a human. Reading this passage I decided to read another translation to catch a different nuance to these verses. He stayed human caught my attention. He could have escaped this life at any moment. He could have decided the moment he was born that it was not worth it. He could have decided at age 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30. Jesus could have abandoned his humanity but he did not. He stayed a servant and stayed a slave.
    So many times I want to escape when I feel like a servant, doing menial tasks, “unimportant” things. I want to escape difficult things, hard situations and relationships. Jesus did not run back to heaven. Jesus stayed. How can you stay, what is God calling you to remain and serve in?

**Please take as much time as is possible to sit and reflect.**

Merry Christmas!!

May you know and feel the depth, length, height and length of the love of Jesus more richly today and in the year to come!

Christmas Love

**Please take one minute to sit, breathe deeply and seek quiet.**

   Christmas love came innocent, vulnerable and as a servant. Christmas love came in humility, in downward mobility to meet us where we are. Christmas love came through a virgin-born, perfect baby so that we might live. Christmas love came as a subject and slave to anything and everything a human being might suffer.
    The vulnerability of a great God amazes me. He subjected Himself to a mother’s womb and human development, to a mother, father and human family to care for him, to dependence on others for food, clothing and a place to sleep. He put Himself in dependence on broken human beings. Not only did his love come in dependence, He knew he would be dependent on parents that made mistakes and were broken. The great God of the UNIVERSE put Himself in a place of utter dependence so that man could know him and live.
    Christmas love is Jesus. He is a God who placed himself in great dependence on men and women so that through Him men and women might live. A risky move if you ask me. A move He had to make for our lives.
    God’s love went to the greatest of lengths but it was not a risky move. He knew what He was doing and He knew it was worth it. He knew what would come from it and He came. This move of love brought light, hope and life to the world.  Praise be to God.

**Please take as much time as is possible to sit and reflect.**

The Call and Gift of Joy

**Please take one minute to sit, breathe deeply and seek quiet.**

    Joy is both a choice and a gift. Most things seem to be. When I say it is a choice I do not mean that it is an easy choice. In reality choosing joy can be a very challenging, seemingly impossible. To choose joy requires a perspective and strength that is beyond us. To choose joy means that we choose it in the good times and the bad, in the ease and in the challenges. Choosing joy is not circumstantial but it sure is easier to choose it when life is easy!
    Joy is also a gift. An overwhelming, supernatural, mysterious gift that takes no effort on our part, we merely receive it. Oh how I desire that we would all have the gift of joy!
    My prayer is that you would have joy today and this Advent season. Joy that overwhelms, joy that sees farther, joy that is lived out more deeply and richly in the midst of wherever you are in life.

**Please take as much time as is possible to sit and reflect.**

An Oxymoron

**Please take one minute to sit, breathe deeply and seek quiet.**

    I recently watched a friend singing “Joy to the World”, knowing that his world had fallen apart and he was struggling deeply. I thought to myself, an oxymoron is living out before my eyes.
    Sometimes life seems anything but joyful. It is difficult to find joy in the midst of loss, pain and anxiety. It is difficult to find joy in the midst of hardship and heartache because these things in and of themselves do not contain joy. They contain confusion, chaos and suffering. Joy is very difficult to find because it is not there. But Jesus is. Jesus is with us in the confusion, the chaos, the suffering. Joy may be difficult to find but Jesus is there. Jesus is our joy and he is with us. He is with us in the suffering, in the loss, in the “I can’t breathe because this is so painful” moments. There can be joy because we have Jesus. He is the only reason that there can be joy in the midst of evil, pain and suffering.
    We live life as an oxymoron of joy and pain, Jesus and suffering. He lived life as an oxymoron and we rest in the tension because we know the joy that is relationship with Jesus.

**Please take as much time as is possible to sit and reflect.**

 

The Joy of Every Longing Heart

**Please take one minute to sit, breathe deeply and seek quiet.**

“Come Thou long expected Jesus, born to set Thy people free. From our fears and sins release us, let us find our rest in thee. Israel’s strength and consolation, hope of all the Earth Thou art. Dear desire of every nation, joy of every longing heart.” – Come Thou Long Expected Jesus

    Jesus is the joy of every longing heart. Our hearts long for freedom - freedom from fear, from sin, from struggling and from striving. Our hearts need rest and they find their rest in freedom that comes from Jesus. Whether we know it or not we all long for freedom and for those of us who know Jesus, he is our joy. Our longing hearts find their rest in Jesus. This leads us to gratefulness and praise.
    There is always another place we can find rest. There will always be opportunity for us to be released from fear and sin and find rest.
    May we continually find our rest and freedom in Jesus and may we experience the joy that it is to know him.

**Please take as much time as is possible to sit and reflect.**

Joy Sees Farther

**Please take one minute to sit, breathe deeply and seek quiet.**
 

“For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:2b

Vision changes everything. Vision makes you do things you never thought you could. Having a picture of what is to come changes how you live presently. The author of Hebrews says that Jesus endured the cross and scorned its shame because of the joy set before him. Jesus had a vision and this vision helped him to see farther. This is what joy does – it sees farther. Joy sees what is to come.
For Jesus, this joy was reconciled relationship with us, with mankind. The joy that was worth the cross was us.
Can you imagine having a vision of great joy? Whatever that vision is, we often do not know what sacrifices it will take. We have the example of Jesus, the One who is to come who continued to see the vision that was greater than the sacrifice. He saw the vision of joy of reconciled relationship with man, and the amazing aftereffects of that (they are infinite!).  Joy sees beyond our present circumstances. Joy has vision and it sees farther.
**Please take as much time as is possible to sit and reflect.**

Advent Joy

**Please take one minute to sit, breathe deeply and seek quiet.**

JOY -
n: the emotion evoked by well-being, success or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires;
v: to experience great pleasure or delight.

    According to Webster, joy is dependent on our emotions and experiences. Our joy is subject to our well-being, the well-being of those we love, success and/or gaining the desires of our hearts. I can relate to this. Yes, joy is an emotion and can be found in experiences and I LOVE to feel joy!
    Jesus also speaks of a joy that is grounded, not fleeting and not at the mercy of emotions. Joy is found in a person – Jesus.
    Jesus is constant, steady and true. He is not based on emotion or experience. He IS. If joy is found in a relationship with Jesus then this joy grounds me and is not dependent on experience and emotion. Experience and emotion are there but our joy is not based on those things. Our joy is based on something more stable.
    Yes, joy is felt and joy can go missing but our TRUE joy, the joy that grounds us is found in the person of Jesus, whose birth we look forward to with great anticipation.

**Please take as much time as is possible to sit and reflect.**

Jesus Wept

    “Jesus wept”. The shortest verse in the Bible contains great power. It contains power that meets us in our grief, in our sorrow and with the pain of death. In this verse God meets us in our humanity and reminds us that we have a God that identifies with us. He is not unfamiliar with grief.
    Jesus was planning to resurrect Lazarus from the dead yet he stopped to grieve with Mary and with the people. Resurrection was on his mind yet he allowed time for grief and met people in their grief. He legitimized the reality and need for tears.
    I cannot imagine the horror, the sorrow, the pain, the grief, the “I cannot breathe” feeling that the families and community of Newtown, CT. I know that God can redeem the greatest of sorrows, the greatest of evils and can re-create anything. I would like to caution against moving too quickly to redemption and not allowing grief to have its place and its time. Let us grieve with one another and for one another. Let us grieve with God knowing that Jesus weeps as well.

    I realize the story about Lazarus doesn’t end there. The story ends with some of the people saying, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?” The answer is yes, Jesus could have, yet he did not. If we consider the question they are asking, they are really asking the questions of why he did not stop Lazarus from dying. I don’t know. I don’t know what he didn’t keep those at Sandy Hook from dying. I don’t know.

  For the bible story mentioned above see John 11:17-37.

A Call to Peace

**Before you being reading, sit down, breathe normally and be quiet for one minute.**
   
    In humility and pleasure God comes into the world fully man. This humbling led to sacrifice which ultimately led to peace between the two parties – God and man.
    What opportunities has God taken to bring humility into your heart and life? What opportunities have you taken to recognize the need for humility? How can humility lead to peace in a relationship in your life?
    The peace that God brings gives us reconciliation with Him – a restored relationship. What peace can you bring to a relationship in your life? How can reconciliation be a reality as you seek to live in humility and peace?

**Sit quietly again for as much time as is available to you.**

Peace on Earth?

**Before you begin reading, sit down, breathe normally and be quiet for 1 minute.**

    Can there really be peace on earth? Sometimes it is difficult to live with peace as the world around us is anything but peaceful. Wars that never end, relationships that are severed, chronic illness, so much more seem to plague any opportunity for peace on earth. U2’s Peace on Earth reflects the reality and angst of this dichotomy.

A few verses:

Heaven on Earth
We need it now
I'm sick of all of this
Hanging around
Sick of sorrow
I'm sick of the pain
I'm sick of hearing
Again and again
That there's gonna be
Peace on Earth
Jesus can you take the time
To throw a drowning man a line
Peace on Earth
Hear it every Christmas time
But hope and history won't rhyme
So what's it worth
This peace on Earth

    Many times we feel like Jesus does not see, does not hear and we want something, anything. Jesus, can you take the time to throw a drowning man a line? Does God care amidst the war, the sickness, the pain? If he does, then why doesn’t he do something about it? Why doesn’t he end it all and bring final peace?
    There are no answers that satisfy this angst, the pain and the weariness of the reality that there is not complete peace on earth, at least not yet.

In addition to U2’s expression are verses from I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day which say,

And in despair I bowed my head:
"There is no peace on earth," I said,
"For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men."

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead, nor doth he sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,
With peace on earth, good will to men."

    And this is what we hope and pray; that the bells would ring louder, deeper and that we would trust that God is neither dead nor is he asleep.   
    Which song do you relate to more right now in your life? Take some time to talk to God and hear what He wants to speak to your heart.

**Sit quietly again for as much time as is available to you.**

An All-Gracious King

**Before you being reading, sit down, breathe normally and be quiet for one minute.**

“Peace on earth, good will to men, from heaven’s all-gracious King.”
                                                                                 – It Came Upon a Midnight Clear

To: The Earth and Men and Women
From: Heaven’s All-Gracious King

    The way the line is phrased in the hymn above sounds to me like a gift to with a “To” and “From” label on a Christmas gift. God's peace is a great gift to us! The verse comes from Luke 2:14. An angel of the Lord had just pronounced to the shepherds that a Savior has been born, and that he is the Christ. This verse in the hymn refers to when angels join in praising God after the birth of Christ. The peace that he brings is reconciliation between God and man. It comes from heaven’s all-gracious King. ALL-GRACIOUS. In his grace does Jesus come and through his grace does he save giving us peace. 
    Jesus is an all-gracious King. He extends grace as the greatest ruler. He does not hold back, he is good and he does not have favorites. He is a King who is full of grace. We have no concept of what that is like. We have ever only seen human, flawed rulers yet Jesus is fully God, fully human and a perfect ruler that brings perfect grace that leads to the greatest peace for earth.
    What a gift to receive this Christmas!

**Sit quietly again for as much time as is available to you.**

Peace Needed Blood

**Before you being reading, sit down, breathe normally and be quiet for one minute.**
"For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross." Colossians 1:19-20

    It seems odd that peace would come through blood. To think that peace needed blood. Many times I think of peace as merely the absence of pain, turmoil, hardship. Sometimes this is true. Peace with God came through death, it came through shed blood. Who would have thought that peace needed blood? The life of Jesus, lived perfectly, ended with a bloodshed death. The blood that dripped is the blood that has cleansed our lives and has reconciled us with God.
    Jesus is our only opportunity for peace with God. It started with the incarnation, the birth of Jesus when God was PLEASED to have all his fullness dwell in Jesus. He was pleased to become fully human. The humility of God is enormous and to take it even further, the humility goes even to death, to the shedding of blood.
    How has peace come into your life through hardship, through sacrifice?

**Sit quietly again for as much time as is available to you.**

Advent Peace

**Before you being reading, sit down, breathe normally and be quiet for one minute.**
    Peace often comes at a price. Peace costs something. It costs something to someone. Peace in a reconciled relationship involves humility, strength and other sacrifices. For some of us, peace has been a foreign concept (and maybe continues to be). Our lives have involved a lack of peace in relationships, in our home, with God. We often think of peace as the absence of strife and discord. Sometimes it really is the absence of those things but often it costs something.
    Peace is also supernatural and mysterious. Peace is a gift that God gives in the midst of strife and discord. In the beauty and wonder of God He gives us peace in chaos.
    Advent peace brings us to consider the peace that comes through Jesus. The peace that we consider this week involved humility and great sacrifice. It cost blood, it cost a life. It cost the life of the One whose birth is coming. Peace often comes at a price. This peace is also a beautiful and mysterious gift that is given by the One who came to make peace between us and God and between one another.
    Reflect on peace today and ask God for the gift of peace.

**Sit quietly again for as much time as is available to you.**

The Call to Hope

**Before you begin reading, sit down, breathe normally and be quiet for 1 minute.**

    Earlier I asked you to consider how God may be calling you to prepare for the arrival of His Son, Jesus. We’ve considered hope this week. Hope that is based in the promises of God, fulfilled in Jesus and requires that we wait.
    Today I want you to consider the call to hope in the promises of God not only for yourself but for another. There are times when our hope is stronger than another’s, we have an easier time trusting God and believing Him. There are times when others are struggling to hope and to believe God. Can you think of someone now who needs you to hold onto hope for them? In preparing for the coming of Jesus, consider now how you can help another hope, whether they know Jesus or not. One way is to hold onto hope for them – hold onto the promises of God and tell them that you are doing so.

    Receive this benediction as we conclude this week of Hope:
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” – Romans 15:13

**Sit quietly again for as much time as is available to you.**

Hoping is Hard

**Before you begin reading, sit down, breathe normally and be quiet for 1 minute.**

    It is not always easy to hope. Even if you base your hope on God’s promises, hoping is difficult. Hope requires waiting, hope requires not knowing the answers, hope demands blindness.  Hope requires that we trust over and over again. It requires that we believe that God is good and that He knows what He is doing.
    Hoping is not only hard but hoping hurts. It hurts because we know God’s promises and have experienced some of them but we have not experienced all of them and may not until His second coming. So we hurt while we hope.
    My friend Leighton Ford describes hope as “a strong and confident trust, given by the Holy Spirit and nurtured in life experience, that God, who has promised good to us and all creation, makes good on his promises through Jesus’ coming and coming again”. Yes, God makes good on His promises and it starts with Jesus’ first coming, His birth. We then wait, we wait and hope for His coming again.
    It is not easy, but God has given us hope now through Jesus’ birth and we look forward to the thrill of hope with Jesus’ second coming.

**Sit quietly again for as much time as is available to you.**

A Hopeful Hymn

**Before you begin reading, sit down, breathe normally and be quiet for 1 minute.**
   

“A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices and yonder breaks a new and glorious morn” – O Holy Night

    O Holy Night is one of my favorite hymns. It always reminds me of my college years which I absolutely loved. (If you went to Texas Tech, you know what I am talking about!). This verse from the popular hymn touches something inside each one of us.
    We can all relate to weariness and the longing for hope that it brings. We want a break, some rest. We rejoice at the THRILL that hope is as we consider the coming of Jesus – the breaking dawn that He is. The specific hope we have is that we longer have to strive to be reconciled with God. Our weariness in trying to reconcile with God is met with the promise of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus.  This is the new and glorious morn that is coming.
    So, whether you are weary from life, weary from trying to strive to win God’s approval, weary from distance from God for whatever reason, there is reason to HOPE – Jesus is coming and with Him comes the glorious morning – a new day.
    Sit today with this hymn, listen to a version of it wherever you can find it. Sit and meditate on this line from O Holy Night and let it resonate with your soul.

**Sit quietly again for as much time as is available to you.**

The Foundation of our Hope

**Before you begin reading, sit down, breathe normally and be quiet for 1 minute.**
    You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in your word. – Psalm 119:114

    We hope for many things and place our hope in many things. If you think about it our hope is quite scattered and does not always have the strongest foundation. I love to daydream, picture a glorious moment or a great feeling. Many times these daydreams are hope, wishes and dreams but are not based in reality. Often when these dreams do not come to fruition I get disappointed. Quite a bit of energy spent on something that is not real!
    The hope that I want you to consider is a hope that is based in the promises of God. Hope that is based in God’s word and ultimately hope that is placed in the person of Jesus.
    Henri Nouwen says that hope is open-ended, fulfilled according to the promises [of God] and not just according to our wishes. I had never thought about basing ALL my hopes on God’s promises. Some of my hopes are based on God’s promises and others are wishful thinking. Hoping is more than wishful thinking, it is based on the promises of God. This hope does not disappoint. A hope based on my wishes alone will most likely disappoint but hope based on promises, found in God’s Word, will never disappoint. Read God’s word, become familiar with His promises. Promises create hope and you can hope in God’s promises!
    This Advent, THE Word became flesh in Jesus Christ. He is the fulfillment of our greatest hope.

**Sit quietly again for as much time as is available to you.**

Advent Hope

**Before you begin reading, sit down, breathe normally and be quiet for 1 minute.**

    Advent is defined as “coming” or “arrival”. As we consider the Advent season of Christmas we look forward to the coming and arrival of Jesus.
    In the midst of other Christmas traditions, there is God’s call to sit, listen and prepare for the arrival of Jesus. I confess that I probably spend more time preparing for the arrival of a house guest than I do for Jesus.
    In Christian tradition there are four themes of Advent which include Hope, Peace, Joy and Love. Various churches focus on these themes in the four Sundays leading up to Christmas and in various orders. I am following the order of our church and will start with Hope.
    Consider how God may be calling you to prepare for the arrival of His Son, Jesus through Hope.
Spend time in prayer today focusing on Hope. Ask God to show you whatever He would like you to see in relation to Hope and Jesus.

**Sit quietly again for as much time as is available to you.**

The Gift of Presence

**Before you begin reading, sit down, breathe normally and be quiet for 1 minute.**

    "Play with me". I hear these daily words from my three year old son. Most of the time he wants me to sit with him while he plays. He does not want me to actually play, He just wants me there. He wants me to be with him, to sit on the floor, watch and interact with him as he engages me. He simply wants my presence.
    I often find myself fidgeting, not able to sit still, tempted to grab my phone, check email or flip through a magazine. That would not be “playing with him” because something else has my attention and my affections. He simply wants my presence, my full presence.
    As we prepare for Christmas, I realize that the gift of presence is coming. God came to be with us, He brought His physical presence to a world in desperate need of a Savior. Emmanuel – God with us. With Christmas comes the gift of God’s presence through His Son, Jesus Christ.
    Presence is a powerful thing. God knew it and we as Jesus’ followers should consider how we can give this gift to others as well. Whether it is Jesus coming to earth or giving someone our full presence, it is a great gift. A gift that we are tempted to hold back because of many unnecessary and lesser affections. Are your affections set on the greatest gift of presence – Jesus? How will His presence empower you to give the gift of presence to another?

**Sit quietly again for as much time as is available to you.**

Embrace Interruption

**Before you begin reading, sit down, breathe normally and be quiet for 1 minute.**

    Can you be interrupted? Is your pace of life so fast that interruptions cause frustration, raise your blood pressure and are seen as nuisances? Or is your pace of life slow enough to embrace interruption and respond to it appropriately?
    Many of us are not fans of interruptions unless it will benefit us somehow. I often get so enamored with my own thoughts or plans that any small interruption sends me into a tailspin. An interruption has stopped ME, gotten in MY way and is not as important as ME.
    I have found that my immediate response to interruptions is an indicator of the state of my heart and the focus of my mind. These interruptions can come from people, from ourselves, a random statement, a disappointment and even from God. Not all interruptions demand the same amount of time and attention but often we do not give enough attention to important interruptions (even if they are unwelcome). These interruptions can be gifts from God.
    How has God interrupted you lately? Have you been able to slow down, accept the interruption and receive the gift that it might be? Maybe He wants to teach you something, maybe He wants to remind you of His great love, maybe He wants to show you how to love others. The gift of an interruption is endless, especially when the interruptions are from God. How great it is to receive these gifts!
    What is your pace of life? Is it slow enough to both recognize and respond to interruptions? How might you dwell on an interruption from God, looking to hear more deeply from Him? How can the interruptions of those around you be seen as an opportunity to love and minister to them?
    Embrace interruption.

**Sit quietly again for as much time as is available to you.**

Community and Faith

**Before you begin reading, sit down, breathe normally and be quiet for 1 minute.**

“We are able to do many hard things, tolerate many conflicts, overcome many obstacles, and persevere under many pressures, but when we no longer experience ourselves as part of a caring, supporting, praying community, we quickly lose faith.”  Compassion, p. 59, Henri Nouwen, et al.

    Most of us are quite capable people, gifted in many ways and have been given great opportunities. We can do along and some of us have overcome a lot. We are hard workers, those who persevere and have made it. We have accomplished so much as individuals, or at least we think we have.
    I love how Nouwen connects faith with community. The nurture and growth of our faith is dependent on community. Sure our own individual times with God are highly valuable as are our times together in worship services, groups, neighborhood communities, etc. It is not only our faith that helps us through difficulties but it is the faith of the community, those who will cry with us and for us. Those who will hope for us when we cannot hope. Those who will strengthen our faith by letting us stand on their faith. Those who love when we are being very difficult to love. The community perseveres in their faith as they walk with us and we supernaturally receive the benefits of their faith.
    The body of Christ is a mystery, a mystery that includes dependence. Our God is so creative and gracious that He gives us others to grow in faith with. We need them and they need us. How has the community of Christ nurtured your faith?

**Sit quietly again for as much time as is available to you.**

Peace and People-Pleasing

**Before you begin reading, sit down, breathe normally and be quiet for 1 minute.**

    I confess that I often care too much about what people think, whether they will be hurt by something or whether they will like me. I like being able to influence what people think of me. This is a form of people pleasing because I want everyone to like me! There are often times in life when we have to make decisions that will upset others. We have to make decisions that are not looked upon favorably or sometimes the direction we go is met with disappointment by others.
    Often when I am trying so hard to make sure everyone is “okay” I miss what God is calling me to. I miss what the Spirit is whispering in my heart. God’s voice is clouded out by my thoughts of my image. Everyone may be happy around me but I am unsettled, there is something that does not sit right with my soul. Oh, that’s right, I sought man’s approval and not God’s. As I received one set of approval I did not receive another and I can feel it. I do not have peace.
    Peace comes when God has captured my heart not when I have captured the heart of man. Peace comes not when I have won the approval of men but followed the call of God.
    How can you seek to please God rather than others? How have you sensed God’s peace in a difficult decision lately? If you have not sensed much peace lately, remember God’s great love and seek to do whatever He has called you to.

Have more than two minutes? Read Galatians 1:10 and process this challenging verse with God.

**Sit quietly again for as much time as is available to you.**

Hearing God

**Before you begin reading, sit down, breathe normally and be quiet for 1 minute.**

    It is the season of Christmas where unfortunately all things start to move faster, there is more on the to-do list and things are more crowded (literally). We tend to be more frustrated, less patient and lose sight of Jesus. This is the perfect opportunity to choose to slow down and hear what God wants to speak to our hearts.
    Slowing allows us to hear more clearly things that would not have heard the first time around. Chances are if we are running around busy, or concerned about our check list we often have not heard correctly the first time anyway! Slowing down allows me to hear more clearly what another is saying to me and also what God is saying to me.
    To sit and listen to God takes time, it takes discipline and it clarifies things.
    In the times I have practiced slowing I have sat down with a cup of hot tea (which almost automatically causes you to slow down), no agenda, possibly read something short and just waited. I am tempted to get up after about 10 minutes and read more or go do something productive. For me, I have found that after about 45 minutes of sitting and sipping hot tea that something comes forth. Either a truth pierces my heart or I recall something and God brings light to it. If I do not slow down and sit, I miss this.
    Consider making time to sit with God. Drink whatever warm drink you’d like and sit with Him, alone. Read a passage of Scripture and talk to God, but spend most of your time listening. Ask Him to speak to your heart. Pay attention to the things that come up and listen for God.

**Sit quietly again for as much time as is available to you.**

Waiting

**Before you begin reading, sit down, breathe normally and be quiet for 1 minute.**

    The day after Thanksgiving, I can finally begin with the Christmas decorations! There is a strict rule (my husband’s) in our home that Christmas does not begin until after Thanksgiving. Honor the pilgrims! Although I moan and groan here and there about waiting, there is something about waiting and being patient for the time of Christmas.
    Being patient is not easy, and I do not think it is supposed to be but I could either complain or pout until the day after Thanksgiving or I can enjoy the days and moments. Enjoying them as they are meant to be and wait for the day after Thanksgiving and the time in which Christmas begins being celebrated.
    This happens in all our lives. We have seasons. We have seasons that are rich and full of life and other seasons that are dry and seemingly without life. We have seasons in which we wait and wait and others seasons where everything seems to be moving too fast.
    I am often not patient in the difficult seasons. I often am complaining and pouting rather than enjoying the present as gifts, no matter how difficult they might be. I do not wait well.
    How about you? What season are you in? How is your waiting? Do you trend towards complaining or towards embracing? My prayer is that whatever season you are in that you would have a heart of thanksgiving (and that I would too!).

**Sit quietly again for as much time as is available to you.**

Happy Thanksgiving!

May you all enjoy a day where you sense God’s love and presence in all things!

Faith, Love and Hope

**Before you begin reading, sit down, breathe normally and be quiet for 1 minute.**

“We always thank God for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers. We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.”

                                                             – The Apostle Paul, 1 Thessalonians 1:2-3

    Who are you thankful for? Who do you consistently mention in your prayers?
    I love the idea of continually remembering those who are living their lives for God. It is in their faith, their love and their hope that they serve. Their work, their labor and their endurance is a by-product of their faith, their love and their hope. The people who live this way inspire, encourage and challenge me. They remind me that working, laboring and enduring well are a result of faith and trust in God, love of God and others and hope in Christ. So many times I have it the other way around and forget that it begins with faith, love and hope. This cuts to my heart and brings me to tears as I write.
     May your prayers today be filled with those who have provided amazing examples of walking a life of faith, love and hope because of Christ. May our lives also become examples to others of walking in faith, love and hope.

**Sit quietly again for as much time as is available to you.**

Joy and Grief

**Before you begin reading, sit down, breathe normally and be quiet for 1 minute.**

    Life is full of bittersweet moments. Saying hello to one thing often requires saying goodbye to another. A new job means that we get to serve in ways more in line with our gifts and calling yet this means we say goodbye to a work team. We say hello to a new in-law and goodbye to holidays as they have been when it was just “us”.
    As we live more life we find that joy and grief often come as a pair. There is great joy as a friend receives a promotion and great grief as we are reminded that another friend is without a job. There is great joy as children receive life-saving medication and great grief as the similar children die because there is no life-saving medication.
    We are called to rejoice with those who rejoice and grieve with those who grieve. There are times when we rejoice because a friend has a dream come true. We truly are excited for them, but it is challenging to rejoice because we have to wait for our dream to come true, or maybe it never does. We grieve when another is grieving the loss of a loved one and feel a sense of guilt because our loved one remains here with us.
    Joy and grief are realities that are often tensions. Are you experiencing a life tension of joy and grief? If so, talk to God about it. Sit and listen to what He would speak to your heart and be encouraged.

**Sit quietly again for as much time as is available to you.**

Happy Thanksgiving Week! (Slowing Brings Appreciation)

**Before you begin reading, sit down, breathe normally and be quiet for 1 minute.**

    Happy Thanksgiving All! Another slowing post and hoping that today you will find some time to slow down and appreciate all you have been blessed with.
    Slowing increases our awareness of the gifts we have in life. Slowing allows us to see our blessings and consider how we might give to others. Slowing increases our ability to see the sacrifices of others and appreciate their work. Slowing leads to appreciation, thankfulness and humility.
    Practice slowing today and look around you and thank God for the things He has given you. Look around and see how others have blessed you beyond what you could imagine.

**Sit quietly again for as much time as is available to you.**

The Gift of Taking Notice

**Before you begin reading, sit down, breathe normally and be quiet for 1 minute.**

    Through the Bible we read of Jesus who took notice of people. He took notice of those who were overlooked, those who were noticed by others for what they did wrong and those who were desperately seeking Him. He took the time to notice when no one else was or was noticing for the wrong reasons. Story after story in the Gospels we read of this gift that He gave people – He noticed them. He noticed, even commended them at times and told others to take notice of them as well.
    To notice someone is a gift. There are so many people that feel overlooked every day, that wonder if anyone cares or sees them. Does anyone really hear them, does God hear them? Does God see?
    We have opportunities each day to be the hands and feet of Christ and care for another by the simple act of noticing. Taking notice of them, commending them, encouraging them, sending them a link from an article or picture you thought they’d like. Let them know that you think of them. Often this is a tangible reminder that God thinks of them as well. I wish we would all consistently believe God loves us and notices us but we all have our insecurities and our struggles and we need reminders.
    Be a loving reminder of God’s attention to someone today.

**Sit quietly again for as much time as is available to you.**

Have more than two minutes? Read Luke 7:36-50 about Jesus who took notice.

Seeing Deeply and Differently

**Before you begin reading, sit down, breathe normally and be quiet for 1 minute.**

    Slowing gives us the opportunity to see deeper. Slowing gives us the opportunity to see beyond the surface and into the true heart of a matter. This can be something that God might be doing in us and He wants us to see deeper. This might be something that God is wanting us to see in another so that we can encourage him or her.
    Slowing also gives us opportunity to see a different perspective. In slowing we look at the same person, situation or thing for much longer than if we were on our busy schedule. With slowing the longer gaze might bring forth a different perspective. This different perspective might increase our compassion or increase our love. This different perspective might lead us to live differently than we have been.
    Slowing gives us opportunity to see deeper and differently. What might God want you to see deeper today? Who or what might God want you to see differently today?

**Sit quietly again for as much time as is available to you.**

Do you Know God?

**Before you begin reading, sit down, breathe normally and be quiet for 1 minute.**

“Faith, in the final analysis, is trusting someone you know, even when you don’t always understand what he is doing.”
                                                 – Carolyn Custis James, When Life and Beliefs Collide

    How well do you know God? Not just know about him, but know Him like you do a good friend, family member or even spouse? Have you ever noticed that the more you get to know someone the easier it is to trust them (that is, if they are trustworthy) and the less you know someone the more likely it is that you will make up stories of why they do what they do and who they are?
    I have found that relationship, getting to know someone helps me to trust them, especially when I don’t understand what they are doing and why they are doing it. The same goes for God yet we treat Him differently. We often learn much about Him (knowledge) and we thing that this is the same as knowing Him. Knowing Him leads to faith, not necessarily knowing about Him (although it does help).
    God desires relationship, trust and faith and wants our assurance to come from knowing Him. The more we know God the more we trust Him. Do you know God enough to trust Him? Will you sit for a bit longer than two minutes and engage Him in honest conversation, get to know Him and allow Him to speak to your heart?

**Sit quietly again for as much time as is available to you.**

Have more than two minutes? Reading the Bible is the best way to know God. Open up the gospel of Luke and start reading at Chapter 1. Get to know God.

Love Hard and Hold Loosely

**Before you begin reading, sit down, breathe normally and be quiet for 1 minute.**

    One of life’s tensions seems to be that to truly live we have to love hard. We get many opportunities to love hard. We are part of families, we are married, we have children. We are part of communities, neighborhoods, friendships. We have so many opportunities to jump in and love hard.   
    With the opportunities to love hard, comes the truth that those things might go away, we might lose a community because of a move, we might lose a friendship due to pain, we might lose a loved one due to a tragic event. With the reality of loss sometimes we withhold from loving hard, we withhold because we do not want to hurt again, at least not hurt very deeply.
    It seems that when we love hard we also have to hold loosely. I do not do this very well. I do not know that I know how. Loving people hard but knowing they are not “mine” is a tension. People are entrusted to me, my family, my friends, but ultimately they are all God’s. I jump into a community and I am entrusted to love and care for people as I live sacrificially but they could move at a moment’s notice or I could move. This community is also God’s.
    There is such a struggle to love hard and to hold loosely. How do we love hard yet hold loosely? Still trying to figure this one out and I have a feeling it requires a little more trust from God. (The trust thing comes up a lot for me). I have a feeling it also requires a little more belief that He also loves those things that I love and actually loves them more than I do.
    How do you love hard and hold loosely?
**Sit quietly again for as much time as is available to you.**