If you just sang this title to the tune of Joy to the World in your head, you just got a behind-the-scenes peek at my crazy this week.  Throughout most of the holiday season I’m a lot like Buddy the Elf: “Smiling’s my favorite”, and spreading Christmas cheer by “singing loud for all to hear” (which I’m here to tell you will get you weird looks EVERY time).  

I can usually rally under the busiest of schedules leading up to Christmas, knowing that I will have “time off” when Christmas comes. I can rally…until I can’t. It turns out our mortal bodies can only endure so much sleep deprivation and caffeine loading. Eventually it will rebel against you with illness, or just good old fashioned anxiety.

So yesterday, as I drank my Echinacea tea, I folded my laundry and watched the Muppet Christmas Carol. And you know what? It was enough. The laundry was done. Some days we take victory where we can find it.

Christmas is almost here, whether we are ready or not. Even though we feel the pressure to give into the busy and expectations of the season, take some time to slow down enough to enjoy the moments leading up to it. Our Christmas celebrations don’t have to be Pinterest-perfect to be absolutely beautiful and full of wonder.

Grab a coffee (or better yet, hydrate!) and stop for a moment. Even 3 minutes can be a game-changer when you are collecting your strength and getting ready to navigate Target. Breathe in and out, and remember that your hope, strength and worth rest firmly in Christ alone. After all, He is what this is all about in the first place. When we take a minute to refocus on what is important, it frees us up to appreciate how God is at work in us, and in those around us. It makes room in our hearts and minds, to see as God sees, and to love as He loves. Don’t let the enemy steal your joy through the business of busyness.  

Read more

“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him ” 1 Corinthians 2:9

Growing up, my mom would wrap Christmas presents early for my brother and I, and keep them in her closet until Christmas Eve. Then she and my dad (aka Santa) would put them under the tree. Occasionally, she would give us hints as to what lie beneath the colorful paper and curly-Q ribbons, and we’d marvel at it and try to guess what it could be. All we knew is that it would be absolutely wonderful. It was thrilling.

1 Corinthians 2:9 reminds me a bit of Christmas time and peeking at presents: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.”

God loves us infinity more than we can comprehend. He has wonderful things in store for us that we cannot even imagine; the likes of which we have never seen or heard. But unlike peeking at Christmas presents, we are given countless glimpses of the Kingdom of God.

We catch a glimpse of it in worship when we pour out our hearts to Him in praise. We experience it when we come together in faith, and pray. When we serve and put other’s needs before our own, we get a sneak peek at the Kingdom of God. When we laugh together, rejoicing with one another, we feel it, because we are living out the Kingdom of God. When we comfort one another in times of need, the Kingdom of God is near. Every good thing that has come from above, every blessing we experience, is just a hint at what’s coming.

Jesus came to bring light and love to the earth, and left his Holy Spirit here with us, to help us do the same. These glimpses remind us of that. The life Jesus led, in turn showed us how to live, how to love, and how to be a sign and foretaste of the Kingdom of God until He returns and sets the world right again.

Every time we interact with the world around us, we can look for ways we can point people toward Jesus. Our lives are a sign and a foretaste of the Kingdom of God. We can show them a glimpse of the unimaginable goodness to come.

Read more

“The Lord gave this message to Jonah son of Amittai: “Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh. Announce my judgment against it because I have seen how wicked its people are.” 3 But Jonah got up and went in the opposite direction to get away from the Lord. He went down to the port of Joppa, where he found a ship leaving for Tarshish. He bought a ticket and went on board, hoping to escape from the Lord by sailing to Tarshish.”

Jonah 1:1-3

There are times in ministry that I relate with Jonah. He definitely does not start out as the hero in this story, running toward the front lines, ready to do the Lord’s will without flinching. I would love to say that I am always strong and ready to dive right in, no matter what. But that is not me. Especially when it comes to matters of the heart. When I think that what the Lord is calling me to might be painful. And I think that God is ok with that.

Consider Jonah for a moment. Jonah got a clear message from God. I don’t know how he received that message, but the Lord gave it and Jonah got it. He had a clear understanding of what God was asking him to do. Often, I pray for that kind of clarity and direction. I’d pray, “Lord if you could just make it CLEAR to me what I should do, I would do it.” But when it is clear, when God does grant a peek at where He is leading, I freeze in a moment of fight or flight. “But Lord, that looks so difficult, so painful, so heartbreaking”. I perseverate on the difficulties of the task ahead, forgetting that the reward of touching hearts and lives will be more payoff than anything actually required of me. I’m not just talking about the heavenly reward of being a servant-I’m talking about the absolute rush of joy at seeing lives transformed for God. The earthly thrill of recognizing where God is at work and joining Him. But it’s not incentive that I think of, it’s the difficulty. Jonah experienced that too. So much so, that he didn’t just abandon the call, but he literally RAN away from the Lord. He got on a boat and set out to sea, hoping to escape.

And don’t we just do that? We think we can hide from God, run away or stand our ground in defiance. But there is no where we can hide that our loving God cannot see us. No place we can run to escape His gentle guidance. As my friend Gregg puts it, our arms are simply too short to box with God.

While Jonah is on the boat, sailing away from God, a horrible storm begins. It doesn’t take long for Jonah to realize that the storm is a direct result of His disobedience. He convinces the men aboard to throw him off the boat and into the sea.

Now the Lord had arranged for a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was inside the fish for three days and three nights.

This part of the story will never cease to simultaneously amaze and amuse me. The Lord arranged to a fish to swallow Jonah. It was an unusual act of mercy. I dare you to say God doesn’t have a sense of humor. Jonah spends a long weekend in that fish, and then the Lord commands the fish to spit Jonah out on the beach. Jonah’s prayer while he is simmering in that fish-belly, is a profound commentary on life when we are running away from God. It is hints powerfully at the waters of baptism as our old self “dies”, we are “buried” and then “rise” again to new life. As one with some experience running from God, the verse that stands out most to me is “as my life was slipping away, I remembered the Lord”

I have run from God before. It’s dark, lonely and confusing. It’s hard to tell which was is up, like being tumbled in a mighty wave. Then I remember the Lord. God is faithful. His is for us. He never drops us and will redeem our lives, our experiences and our pain for purpose: to help others and enrich our own lives.

Eventually, Jonah comes around and follows the Lord’s commission to go to Ninevah. There he shares his experience and the good news about God’s boundless love. Many people hear Jonah’s words and turn toward God in the end. When you find yourself running, avoiding God’s call, wavering to make the decision you know to be right, remember the Lord and run toward God.

Read more