Confession - Christmas Cookies

I thought she had done a good job.

When I was eight years old, I ran down the stairs in my red pajamas with my sister, Veronica. I'm sure my oldest sister Monika was there, too, but my memory places her as the last to get up for Christmas in our teens, so I think I've placed that back on our childhood.

Our first stop was always, of course, the stockings. We've had the same ivory-colored 18" stockings since we were in Spain, which was a looong time. They're more faded now, but hold small trinkets just the same. That year, each of us received a pack of cookies. I got a whole package of chewy Chips Ahoy! I hugged the red container into my red pajamas, as if they would become a part of me.

Knowing my lack of self-control, I gave Veronica very specific instructions: Hide them. I figured if I knew where they were, I would end up eating them all, so it would be best if they were out of sight, out of mind.

She hid the cookies.

For the remainder of the day I played with my new G. I. Joe's. I forgot all about the cookies as we continued on with our Christmas celebration, and eventually, after the sun bid us farewell, I headed off to sleep, another Christmas under my belt.

I brushed my teeth, climbed into bed, and, as I still do today, I put my left arm under my pillow.

*crinkle*

What the...?

I pulled my hand out with the foreign object in its clutches. ... "Wha?"

Yep. Veronica had hid the cookies alright. Under my pillow.

I'm sure you can figure out the rest of the story. After 10 minutes or so, I went from laying in my sheets looking at a package of cookies to laying in crumbs with an empty package of cookies looking at me.

I haven't bought chewy Chips Ahoy! since, but this year I may have to take a walk down memory cookie aisle.

Behold, the best album.

Buy Andrew Peterson's Behold the Lamb of God.



It is hands-down (whatever that means) my favorite Christmas album, ever. It also ranks among my fave top 10 albums I've ever owned. And this year is apparently the 10th anniversary of the original project, and the 5th anniversary for the album's recording.

I saw the tour at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville in 2005. The dim hall with faded seating contrasted the old, old story being told through a vibrant canvas of story and song. If you ever get the chance, go see the tour!

AP is one of my favorite songwriters, ever. His lyrics are amazing. He tells the Christian story like no one I've ever heard, and I love it.

If reading Isaiah isn't for you, I'd listen to this album every day until Christmas to prepare for the coming of Christ. Better yet, do both.

(Did I mention you should buy the album?)

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Thanksgiving - The gift, and the giver.

Today, we are thankful.

The "attitude of gratitude" is highly exalted this time of year. Be thankful for your health, job, family, education, well-being, and everything else. Hey, I'm not gonna knock it. It is definitely good to be thankful.

This weekend, I was reminded that it is easy to be thankful for the gift, but we aren't always thankful for the giver.

So, this Thanksgiving, I'm going to work on my attitude of gratitude. Instead of being thankful just for what I'm receiving, I'm going to be thankful to the one who gives it all.

"Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; His love endures forever." - Psalm 136

Something Worth Waiting For

A few days ago, I thought of a friend.

A bad relationship had caught my friend, and showed no sign of letting go. It was easy to see from the outside, but from inside, it must not have looked all that bad.

Of course, when everything seems fine from the inside, there isn't any reason to expect the possibility of something better. If there is any hope that the person will see something new, they need to be given a vision from outside.

Enter the prophet.

Isaiah, for Israel, was the one who saw the bad relationship. He knew that YHWH was the best fit, and that Israel was content with another lover. So, in fine form, he cast a vision for a different future. It's like he said, "What you see isn't all you can get. You think you've got all you could want, but check this out."

This is what Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem:

In the last days
the mountain of the LORD's temple will be established
as chief among the mountains;
it will be raised above the hills,
and all nations will stream to it.

Many peoples will come and say,
"Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,
to the house of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us his ways,
so that we may walk in his paths."
The law will go out from Zion,
the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

He will judge between the nations
and will settle disputes for many peoples.
They will beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not take up sword against nation,
nor will they train for war anymore.

Come, O house of Jacob,
let us walk in the light of the LORD.

- Isaiah 2:1-5

These words must have been a comfort to Israel, who had been taken captive and shipped off to Babylon. Everyone will be headed home, and the weapons of war will become tools for sowing and reaping. For a people in the middle of war, this kind of hope can only be seen from outside. But more important than ending war, YHWH is calling his people back.

There is good news. This reality will bring a new, healthy relationship.

Surprising

I showed up on my own blog page and didn't know what page I was on.

I guess that's the consequence of seeing the same thing for so long. Eventually, it changes, and you don't even recognize it.

However, I suspect the opposite is worse. Seeing the same thing for so long, and you don't even recognize it. That's how I feel today, thanks to my swim into the Advent Sea.

I picked up my copy of Ancient-Future Time for the first time in about two years today. Well, I picked it up two other times, but it was just to change apartments. Today I began to read it, and I was, of course, reading about Advent. There was plenty going on, but what struck me was the issue of justice.

The Christmas season is all about giving, getting, buying, spending money/time, family, etc. None of that is necessarily bad. Unfortunately, none of it has anything to do with justice, which is a large part of what the Advent season is about. The prophet Isaiah tells the people of Israel, "Hey, your sacrifices aren't what God wants. He wants justice."

That's hitting me today. More than my Sunday services, book studies, class work, sermon preparation, band practices, or whatever else I can give, God wants justice.

"The multitude of your sacrifices—
what are they to me?" says the LORD.
"I have more than enough of burnt offerings,
of rams and the fat of fattened animals;
I have no pleasure
in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.

When you come to appear before me,
who has asked this of you,
this trampling of my courts?

Stop bringing meaningless offerings!
Your incense is detestable to me.
New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations—
I cannot bear your evil assemblies.

Your New Moon festivals and your appointed feasts
my soul hates.
They have become a burden to me;
I am weary of bearing them.

When you spread out your hands in prayer,
I will hide my eyes from you;
even if you offer many prayers,
I will not listen.
Your hands are full of blood;

wash and make yourselves clean.
Take your evil deeds
out of my sight!
Stop doing wrong,

learn to do right!
Seek justice,
encourage the oppressed.
Defend the cause of the fatherless,
plead the case of the widow.

Isaiah 1:11-17

It's coming.

It's my favorite time of the year.

Sure, for many people Christmas-time is their favorite. And why not? A break from all the normal hustle and bustle to be hustled and bustled by family and friends? That's not so bad. There are all the once-a-year cookies, pies, magic cookie bars, coquito (or egg nog, if that's your culture), lights, sounds, smells, tastes, and the feeling of brisk cold along each part of your skin.

This, for the five senses, is the most wonderful time of the year.

I'm glad that this year, like last, I'm not working retail/sales. In years past much of the joy that should surround the season was torn away and cast aside like wrapping paper due to my position in Christmas commerce. This year I'll be able to avoid the preoccupation with shopping and gifts, which I'm glad for.

I don't want to sound like a Grinch. (Given the choice between that and a seasick crocodile, I'd pick the seasick crocodile.) I'm a fan of gifts and sharing family time together, especially after seeing my nephew this past year take so much joy in it, and being able to see the family I really only see once a year. What makes me sad about the gift thing is it distracts from the season of Advent - the season of anticipation.

Some are waiting for Christmas morning, wondering what gift might be under the tree.
Some are waiting for those days when family will all be home.
Some are waiting for classes to end, and a much needed break.

But those waiting for the first Christmas were anticipating something else. They were anticipating liberation, the end of an old order, and the start of something completely different.

I hope to explore this theme of anticipation this year, and I hope to keep you along on the journey.

"Restore us, o LORD God Almighty;
make your face shine upon us,
that we may be saved."

Plotting my escape.

It's the "I've gotta get outta here" feeling.

And I've got it.

How long has it been since I left Chicagoland? As far as I can gather, it's been three months.

It feels like forever.

What is it that makes us want to get up and go? Too much familiar? Innate cabin fever? Tiring routine? Discontent? Fear of contentment? Or maybe a little of columns A through L.

Anybody got any trips planned? I'm plotting my escape.

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o.0
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That's a weird little dude...