December faith

A few things happening around this season conjured up this post.

December of course, is about Christmas - so a reckoning of faith, celebration, busyness.

It is also about a year coming to an end - so a reckoning of things done, and undone.

For me, it's also about remembering my mother and brother with whom i have no means, technologically or otherwise to connect with and actually chat with.

It's also a time when some venture forth across the borders to live differently and bring goodwill to others. My church had a team that went to Cambodia, many for the first time; and Cambodia of course is a nation still recovering from abject darkness, the years of recovering from it not unlike the pockmarked streets and the scorching sun: uneven and trying.

So this post is for:

> the mission trippers who witnessed such outrageous, unexplainable evil, rampant, chronic poverty, and lived with far less than you ever had....or those missing bits of yourself.... Your hearts breaking beyond your control.

> the parents, leaders & children who as 2015 closes are feeling exhausted, drained, disappointed.... Your hearts stone-heavy and barely able to register a different rhythm.

> For those who are a lil frantic over the festivities.... Your heart bobbing in waters of uncertainty: who to get gifts for, where to eat and more.

Here we are:

A broken and sick world

A slap-together, try-to/get-by life

A demanding season

This world,

This life

This season

Is exactly what Jesus enters into.

He did not visit, stop by, or hovered near. He entered it. 

God has never once left this world He made so beautiful; but to be sure we get it; Jesus comes in human form -- right into this madness, mess, morass, moral vacuum.

And his coming was heralded as God's GoodWill towards our kind. 

God desires good for us. And not just a good life of relative ease. But a life of His Goodness oozing forth from our pores even when we cannot see how and don't feel the least bit of it.

But - someone wants to fool us, pull the wool over our eyes, sidetrack us, set us back, defeat us.

He makes evil loom so large

He makes the journey feel so hard

He makes the glitter shine so bright

Yes, lose sight, lose steam, lose your steering wheel .... and drift... so that...

we are no threat to darkness for it has shrouded us and cowered our minds.

 we are not able to triumph for the hard realities of life have deflated us and maybe even embittered us.

 we are not sure what to focus on and pay a price for because there's so much we want and everything is clamouring, 'buy, try, taste, don't lose out!'.

"what is seen was not made out of what was visible" ~ Hebrews 11v3

There is a difference between what is seen and what is visible.

In the verse it refers immediately to God's creation work: He made things out of nothing - Ex nihilo they say it in Latin.

And doesn't it seem like nothing, non-existent, doggone impossible?

Can bones live?

Can a nation heal?

Can I make it through this long painful journey?

Can I release my grip on everything and cling only to Christ this Christmas?

This season of faith: being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see ~v1

Jesus stands before us, and asks, 

"What is frightening you?""What is draining you?""What is distracting you?"

Tell it to him. Then ask for a better picture.

The entire account in Hebrews 11 is of folks who saw a picture that wasn't apparent, obvious, ready. But they saw it and they acted and built their lives around it. That's faith.

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This season of faith: be more sure of what to hope for and be certain about.

2016 won't be the same.

You are the best parents for your child(ren): enjoying it.

I love how Joy supplants everything.

credit: goongkrazy.wordpress.com

Cannot quite remember the labour pains? The nasty and awkward breastfeeding / bathing moments? The long nights? The hundredth time you read that story?

With a mighty teen and a little warrior at 15 and 10, I am well into a new season of mothering for sure. And the Joy has supplanted the pains. Each one. Even now. The teen angst, the motivational mountains, the clean-room war-zone... not that they are over; but they are now rhythm and you learn to Rock and roll with it! How?

Here are 3 survive-into-Joy ways I found:


#1 It's going to happen - again

You ever feel like some days are so deja vu? You have already talked about it, laid down some rules..perhaps you shed a tear or more, prayed... and you thought 'ah, now let's move on'.. and it happens again! The same snarky remark, the attitude, the mess, the disrespect, the sloth and on... None of us grow or change by sheer reasoning. It takes far more. It certainly takes time, loads of it. So, you haven't failed to communicate, care or more. It's just the nature of the things.

Growth takes time, it takes protection, it takes practice.

So don't let every battle be a Waterloo or a watershed. In fact, parenting is not about winning battles but building lives. So keep that goal before you. Don't spend your precious energies trimming leaves for presentation when what you really need to fight are these enemies of the soul -

distrust,
doubt,
unresolved anger,
deep sadness,
repeated sin.

All behaviours come from a deeper place; so seek to know what is going on there and work your way towards it. The health will emerge - from the roots out.

And the Joy? From knowing there is a Gardener who knows our knotty roots well enough to heal and strengthen them. 

#2 Let your spouse take the heat too

Most moms, especially stay-at-home ones tend to shoulder so much of the family we forget we have a comrade. Like us, fathers did not really come armed and ready. But it's a catch-22 when we don't give them a chance to learn, practice and sharpen their abilities.

I have had my fair share (and still do) of being questioned, blamed, even berated! And I do deserve it because I have lost it, lashed out, licked my wounds; all three not really constructive ya. So I have learnt to notice my emotional gauge and signal for help:

whatsapp: not good today, expect some damage. pls pray.
SMS: so dog-tired! the kids are so stupid! when will they learn? Am still ok though.
verbals: need to pray, please take over ~ don't need to worry; he/she/they have to learn to sort it out. I am hiding for a while to recover.

To my surprise; spouse steps up! To be honest, he rarely does exactly what I hope: sprinkle magic dust on the kids and turn them into angels. But he drags me out of the house for coffee. He asks if I am alright/alive/spiritually ok. He scolds the kids! He takes over for a bit. He prays for me.

The Joy? When you know that even though you are sometimes awkward, disagreeing, impatient; there's We not just me.


#3 Be grateful for the good, not greedy for the perfect

With little kids, we have so much control that we can get suckered into thinking we forever hold all the strings of control. They gladly go most places, try most things and want totally to please you! Sure there are tantrums and meltdowns; but mother-influence is pretty mighty. Just recently, my son quipped, "it takes a genius to be a mom" and I heartily approved!

Then, they grow older, and all you have got are the purse-strings and the heartstrings. This is the time when your soul is being trained to be discerning; because you can plan to the hilt but it is just not going to go the way you want. There are preferences, moods, peer pressure, schoolwork etc. to contend with. So you have to be able to taste and delight in the morsels of closeness, empathy, respect, diligence, honesty, discipline, godliness ...

It is also the time to be self-controlled to be grateful and not grate on about what else is lacking. No soul ever thrived under condemnation. All life is coaxed into fullness that begins with acceptance.

Then Joy begins to bubble to the surface and breaks the tension. You will feel much more relaxed about your parenting - and enjoy it.

Christmas is near, and this is the angelic beckoning -

"I bring you good new of great Joy!"

All our daily, lesser and so essential joys beat a trail to this Great Joy.

ENJOY = EN(ter) into JOY my friends!

Step out into the Beckoning, adventure awaits

The sights that dazzle us, that draw us, that hold us spellbound -

How long, and how much of it do we -

enjoy 
revel 
delight
relish
cherish
drink

?

True, we are travelers. We will never be able to cling onto, hold onto, possess any of this. But travelers are not tourists. Tourists want a whiff and make the best of the buck collecting these whiffs of transcendence, purity, silence, majesty, magnificence.

And what if the way our souls open up is the beginning of stepping forth into something larger, an adventure, the Beyond that beckons? Which means that quickly, moving on to the next thing; causing our souls to shut again, is saying No to the Beckoning?

We believe too little. Our dreams are recycled notions. Everything passes us and slides into commonplace: like/instagrammed/tweeted. Short takes on deep things.

Like cliches. Platitudes. Or attitudes like, 'been there, done that'. 

Christmas is coming. Or is it just passing by, while you and I stay dead centre, watching it like window dressing as we move on with the train of humanity, on and on. More likes/pins/tweets?

And what if we are missing so much because we are unable and unwilling to really enter what beckons us? 

The last few months, I have been sensing an Invitation to journey deeper. It's hard to see how I can fit one more thing into my schedule. But the issue is deeper: i seriously doubt my capacity to handle more of whatever it is God has in store. I am confronted with the paucity of my soul. I am content with my small collection of sea shells of spiritual knowledge and experiences. 

"The sea shells tell you there is a wide open sea ahead!"

"I can't swim well! It's too dangerous for me to venture out there."

"Have I ever left you on your own?"

Do you too sense an Invitation? 
What is your response?

I finally offered my weak desire and take tentative steps towards the water.


All around us God beckons us - to live and to give, to enter and endure, to enjoy and enforce.

Watch for it this holiday season.

Maybe you are blessed to make a trip this holiday. then do slow and drink deep of what is set before you. No need to post a picture. Instead, scratch some notes on your soul -

why does this stir me so?
what may i have forgotten?
where is it leading me?

And if you venture outside your home, you will be bombarded with Consumer Christmas. How can you resist all that draw to be cool, hip, up-to-date, well-dressed, well-fed; and instead consider -

"..the time is coming when he'll make the whole area glorious... 
The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. 
For those who lived in a land of deep shadows - light! sunbursts of light! 
You repopulated the nation, you expanded its joy. 
Oh, they're so glad in your presence! 
Festival joy! The joy of great celebration, sharing rich gifts and warm greetings... 
For a child has been born - for us! the gift of a son - for us! 
He'll take over the running of the world. His names will be: 
Amazing Counselor, Strong God, Eternal Father, Prince of Wholeness... 
He'll put that kingdom on a firm footing and keep it going with fair dealing and right living, 
beginning now and lasting always..." ~ Isaiah 9 (The Message version)

Is Christmas a dream?
whose dream is it?
dare you share the dream?