TAKE ME INTO A NEW YEAR,
Gracious God.
Help me to continue looking for meaning, seeking peace, praying for light, dancing for joy, working for justice, and singing your praise.
I go into the new year filled with expectations, a touch of worry, and a bundle of hope.
I do not journey into the new year alone but with you as my guide, with a commitment to my disciplines, with a community of family, friends, and faith.
Take me into the new year, Creator of beauty and wonder.
Bless me with the companionship of Jesus,
and gift me with the guidance and power of the Spirit. Amen.
- Larry James Peacock
Openings
From page 398 of Openings,
by Larry James Peacock. Copyright © 2003
by Larry James Peacock.
Published by Upper Room Books. All Rights Reserved

53 years ago!

Christmas still

The first Sunday after Christmas day.
The verse of the day should be Luke 2:19; to be like Mary as she treasured and pondered...in her heart.
The two Christmas eve services are past. The relatives have returned to their homes. Some things have been put away. We simplified Christmas more intentionally this year. That means we did not contribute very well to the economic recovery. We wrapped most of our presents in newspapers, gave more Christmas gifts to charities such as the UMCOR Zimbabwe relief or some local needs. Sara knitted me a scarf. Nick is doing special chores for us, we enjoyed some gifts of homemade breads and jams. ( My anonymous Christmas tie giver at church also got in on this trend and gave me,instead, a flock of chickens through Heifer Project and a pair of black socks. Thank you anonymous giver if you read this!)
I did not put up the Christmas lights outside so we reduced some energy consumption. In side the house we put up much less of the decorations as well. It felt simpler. Maybe we can simplify even more next year. And leave more time for pondering this Christ gift, then and now.
Merry Christmas, still....

When the song of the angels is stilled
When the star in the sky is gone
When the kings and princes are home
When the shepherds are back with their flock
The work of Christmas begins:
To find the lost
To heal the broken
To feed the hungry
To release the prisoner
To rebuild the nations
To bring peace among brothers and sisters
To make music in the heart.
Howard Thurman (1900-1981)

Love came down at Christmas;
Love all lovely, love divine;
Love was born at Christmas,
Stars and angels gave the sign.
- Christina Rossetti"

GENTLE, loving God,
you come to me this dayin the form of a tiny, vulnerable baby.
I look on you with wonder and gratitude.
Glory to you in the highest heaven,and on earth, peace among all peoples and nations.
For it is in the name of your child, Jesus,that we pray.Amen.

- Beth A. RichardsonChild of the Light: Walking through Advent and Christmas
From p. 84 of Child of the Light by Beth A. Richardson. Copyright © 2005 by the author. Published by Upper Room Books. All Rights Reserved

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light......the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness does not overcome it.

GOD CALLS us to come home for Christmas.
God calls us to come back from all those places where we have settled for less than the fullness of life promised to us in Christ. God calls us back from all the ambitions and possessions we have pursued, thinking they would satisfy us. God calls us to let go of any bitterness and resistance to forgive that block the light of love from warming us. … God calls us to come home and to rest, to be embraced by one who loves us as we are. God offers us a place where we are fully known and also fully accepted.
- Mary Lou Redding
While We Wait: Living the Questions of Advent
From p. 45 of While We Wait: Living the Questions of Advent by Mary Lou Redding.
Copyright © 2002 by the author.
Published by Upper Room Books.

Christmas... not that long ago...

OUR HEARTS — our spirits — wait for the coming of the Christ child. We have worked hard during this Advent season to listen to God’s voice, to turn over our fears and worries, to make a place in all the chaos to be able to welcome God into our lives and hearts. During these last days of Advent, we continue to wait. May these final days include times of quiet. Open wide the door to our hearts. Let there be spaces, silences, and open places. Let us give ourselves the gift of time.
- Beth A. RichardsonChild of the Light: Walking through Advent and Christmas
From p. 75 of Child of the Light by Beth A. Richardson. Copyright © 2005 by the author. Published by Upper Room Books. All Rights Reserved



see also my notes on Advent Silence on my sermon link

It was a time like this,
War & tumult of war,
a horror in the air.
Hungry yawned the abyss –
and yet there came the star
and the child most wonderfully there.
It was time like this
of fear & lust for power,
license & greed and blight –
and yet the Prince of bliss
came into the darkest hour
in quiet & silent light.
And in a time like this
how celebrate his birth
when all things fall apart?
Ah! wonderful it is
with no room on the earth
the stable is our heart.
– from Winter Song: Christmas Readings
by Madeleine L’Engle and Luci Shaw

thnks to LH over on Next Reformation

A friendly Advent Reminder from John the Baptist

Lighting your Advent candles?

Ultimately, we have just one moral duty: to reclaim large areas of peace in ourselves, more and more peace, and to reflect it towards others. And the more peace there is in us, the more peace there will also be in our troubled world.
- Etty Hillesum,died in Auschwitz in 1943 at the age of 29. From An Interrupted Life, a compilation of her diaries and letters.

For what its worth

saw this at Sojourners and passing it on......

This week GM printed a full page ad in Automotive News magazine to make a public apology. They said:While we’re still the U.S. sales leader, we acknowledge we have disappointed you. At times we violated your trust by letting our quality fall below industry standards and our designs become lackluster. We proliferated our brands and dealer network to the point where we lost adequate focus on our core U.S. market. We also biased our product mix toward pickup trucks and SUVs. And we made commitments to compensation plans that have proven to be unsustainable in today’s globally competitive industry. We have paid dearly for these decisions, learned from them and are working hard to correct them by restructuring our U.S. business to be viable for the long-term.

I really don't want a God who is solicitous of my every need,fawning for my attention, eager for nothing in the world so much asthe fulfillment of my self-potential. One of the scourges of ourage is that all of our deities are house-broken and eminentlycompanionable. Far from demanding anything, they ask only how theycan more meaningfully enhance the lives of those they serve."- Belden C. Lane, "The Solace of Fierce Landscapes"

This being human is a guest house. Every morning a new arrival. A joy, a depression, a meanness, some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor. Welcome and entertain them all! Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows, who violently sweep your house empty of its furniture, still, treat each guest honorably. He may be clearing you out for some new delight. The dark thought, the shame, the malice, meet them at the door laughing, and invite them in. Be grateful for whoever comes, because each has been sent as a guide from beyond.
Source: The Guest House By Rumi