Getting Ready for Christmas

Yesterday I talked with a friend in Galveston about the Christmas rush. She's ready to give it all up. Too much rushing around and pressure.

Galveston was hit very hard by hurricane Ike, and many people at my old church have decided not to return. Those who are staying are struggling with rebuilding issues or insurance issues. The insurance companies define "flood" in very particular ways, so that if your flooding doesn't come from rain falling from the sky, you might not be covered. It was the storm surge and high tides that covered much of Galveston, so now many are fighting their insurance company just to cover their losses. Sea water mixed with sewage sitting in your home for a week, whether an inch or several feet, means that you lose quite a lot.

Into that reality comes the typical Christmas rush. Pageants, parties, services, gift exchanges. Organize this group, rehearsals here and there. Bring a tray of cookies, a casserole or finger foods.

For people who work in the church, this is high pressure season. Proofread this, fix these typos, print the bulletins, newsletters, mailings. Discover yet another typo after printing. Order enough candles, check on the costumes, find volunteers, writing sermons, serving at four or more services on Christmas eve, seeing the family only as they sit in their pews and you're up front.

For people who don't work in the church, the pressure of the season to look "normal", to shop yourself silly, to be at all the parties, dress up just so, have the children behave, be cute, be at all the pageants and see Santa, bake the right cookies - all this can be overwhelming.

It's so easy to be caught up into the frenzy, to lose sight of what the season is all about.

Advent isn't yet Christmas. Advent is the season before Christmas, the season in which that frenzy sneaks up on us and takes us unaware. But we can be intentional about slowing down, taking a step back, thinking about what this season means.

Waiting, preparing, anticipating... we are called to be still in this season, to make our hearts ready for the Promised One. We are called to step out of the world's way of doing things (that frenzy) and listen for God. God spoke to Joseph in a dream, to Mary through an angel, to the shepherds through a chorus of angels and brightly shining stars.

These were ordinary people, hard working people. Reminds me of the people in Galveston, working hard to re-build their homes, their buisinesses, their churches. I pray that they can slow down and hear the voice of God this season.

Here where I am, it is the season of longest nights. The sun sets early, we average about seven hours of sunlight a day. It would be easy to let that Christmas frenzy take over, to let the rush of church planning take over, let the pressure to have the "most wonderful time of the year" take over, let the busy-ness compensate for the darkness.

I want to resist the frenzy. Rather, let the season of darkness slow me down. Light candles. Ponder scripture. Be still. Pray. Listen. Watch. Wait. Look at the stars. It's a peaceful way to get ready for Christmas.

This entry is simply an exercise in unwinding my brain after an intense final exam.

I. Put your iTunes/Ruckus/Napster/etc. on shuffle.
II. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
III. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN, NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS!
IV. Tag friends who might enjoy doing this.

1. IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY" YOU SAY?
Breathless
(Corinne Bailey Rae)

2. WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
Special Star
(Mango Groove)

3. WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
Arlington Park
(Chris Cortez)

4. HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
The Great Gig in the Sky
(Pink Floyd, and this one cracked me up)

5. WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
Situations
(Jack Johnson)

6. WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
Old Town
(The Corrs)

7. WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
Bright, Bright The Holly Berries
(Houston School for Performing and Visual Arts Madrigal Singers)

8. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR PARENTS?
Don't Dream It's Over
(Crowded House)

9. WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
Gimmie All Your Lovin'
(ZZ Top)

10. WHAT IS 2+2?
Mean Streak
(Little Big Town, who clearly know I hate math)

11. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
Tozeza
(Oliver 'Tuku' Mtukudzi)

12. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Sweet Dreams of You
(Patsy Cline)

13. WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
Rock And Roll is King
(Electric Light Orchestra)

14. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
Tennessee
(The Wreckers)

15. WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Neria
(Oliver 'Tuku' Mtukudzi)

16. WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
You Needed Me
(Boyzone)

17. WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
American Girl
(Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers)

18. WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
King & Queen
(John Legend)

19. WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
III. Menuetto, Serenade in G Major, "Eine Kleine Nach Musik
(Pavel Bubelnikov)

20. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
Hear Me Lord
(Oliver 'Tuku' Mtukudzi)

21. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
Dweller On The Threshold
(Van Morrison)

22. WHAT'S THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN?
I Won't Back Down
(Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers)

23. HOW WILL YOU DIE?
Turn To Stone
(Electric Light Orchestra)

24. DOES ANYONE LIKE YOU?
Close (To the Edit)
(Art of Noise)

25. IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE?
Oh Draw Me Lord
(Selah)

26. WHAT HURTS RIGHT NOW?
Graceland
(Paul Simon)

27. WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
Broadway
(Allison Krauss)

I'm not "posting" it here or "tagging" anyone, just letting my brain let go a little from the intensity of study today. Might put it back on Facebook, from whence it came, just to laugh with the friend who posted it first, but only after I finish up the rest of the semester's work in the next couple days.

Today's chapel service was peaceful. Lighting candles, sharing bread, hearing God calling me back once again. How much love, and how little I deserve it - but that's the whole point, isn't it?

A bit of fun

From my friend D over at http://impeachmentandotherdreams.blogspot.com/ a fun list to distract me from finals season!

The ones I have done will be in bold.

HAVE...
1. Started my own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than I can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain - because my daughter dared me to
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sung a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
3. Watched lightening at sea - from the beach in Galveston
14. Taught myself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown my own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitchhiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse (only partials)
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of my ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught myself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had my portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling - all the way out to the drop off!
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie - probably one of the all time worst movies EVER
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp (no, but I visited a Khmer Rouge torture prison)
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone - my nose and a toe, you don't get a cast for those
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had my picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit - divorce is a law suit, right?
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Ridden an elephant --my thighs hurt just remembering it.

So this reveals that I've never been to Europe. I wonder why the Sydney Opera House isn't on the list? I'd like to go to Australia too.

Back to the books now.

Writing

Yesterday was World AIDS Day, there was a big display at the university. HIV testing, statistics broken out by continent, donations, red ribbons, the whole nine yards. I'm so pleased that this new generation of college students shows compassion for others.

It's writing week, and I'm stuck down into my papers. With each page I give thanks for the opportunity to study and write. It's hard, and I do struggle, but it's worth it. Renews my faith in humanity and God a little each day.

Writing this time is a bit like making a quilt. Scraps of fabric, scattered and seeming not to match or coordinate in any way. Finding ways of stitching them together to make a useful and coherent whole.

Or at least, that's what I imagine quilting is like! (so says the non-sewer)

As usual though, real life intervenes into the academic life. Laundry, a sick child, and a million other details to remember. It is hard to focus. What motivates me to keep at it in part is one of today's daily lectionary readings.

Isaiah 1:10-20 is the whole reading, God calling to the people of Israel, refusing their multitude of prayers and offerings. What God desires is found in verse sixteen: Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.

Thanksgiving and World AIDS Day remind me to keep God's priorities as my priorities. Seek justice. Rescue the oppressed. Defend the orphan and widow. It is imperative that each of us do something, no matter how small, to work for justice and mercy in this world.

hating the internet

In the last couple of weeks there has been lots of bad news. A friend lost her grandmother, several other friends reported knowing someone in their family or group of friends who had died. My mother told me of at least three people she is friends with who have lost someone they love. Worst of all, one of my oldest and dearest friends lost her husband. Too much.

Celia had a school project that required an old photo of her, so we looked through our photo boxes to find one she wanted to use. I found a photo from my first days at college, smiling in a dorm hallway with a big group of friends. Whatever happened to so-and-so, I wondered? So I googled his name.

I may hate the internet now. I found his obituary, from June 2006. Two full years ago, and I never knew. There's no other information either. Just date and place. Quite possibly one of the finest people I ever knew, and someone whose friendship I always regretted losing track of over the years. I thought of him often, wondered if he'd ever married and had the children he deserved, if he was still helping people, being active in his church. Guess I'll never know now. All those "I should contact" and good intentions for keeping in touch - how I regret them now.

The internet is great, but somethings are better left unknown I suppose.

difficult days

Well, it's been difficult days lately. Two friends have suffered deaths in their families. One asked me to preside at the funeral, which I did, and I'm so glad. Really hard, but it was the right thing to do.

The bright spot for me was that James surprised us with a visit. Business in Connecticut for him, lots of smiles and hugs for us. We shared a family favorite meal (deep dish spinach pizza) and show (Survivor!). The simplest things are the ones that matter, and that's what we were able to share. Simply sitting around a table, hearing the girls pray, sharing conversation about the day, laughing over little things.

In the midst of all this, my school is in high gear - last crunch for reading, time to get the writing going, study for exams. Good thing the girls want a simple Thanksgiving, because I won't have time for a big production. They like to help with cooking now, so I'm ready to find out what kind of dishes they want to make for dinner. As long as there is a cranberry-apple pie and a BIG pan of stuffing, I'll be happy.

Today's scripture was Psalm 100 - enter God's gates with thanksgiving. That's not easy when people are hurting, grieving, or struggling. It's not easy when you are lonely or stressed out. But starting with thanks helps to put everything into perspective. There are times when I argue with God about things. There are times I cry to God, and no words will do. Today, talking with the children, it was clear again how to start with gratitude and trust. The Spirit is guiding me, and for that I am deeply grateful.

Daylight Spending Time

So I was thinking this morning, with the extra hour I had... if it's called "daylight savings time" does that mean that when we switch back it's "daylight spending time"?

It's just gone 5pm and there's a thumbnail sliver of a moon hanging up in the velvet sky. Beautiful, but it's early still. One of the hardest things for me to adjust to up here in New England is the very short days during the winter.

As much as like the change of the seasons, the shift to dark is hard for me to embrace. I'm sure the lessons to be learned from seasons and change are important, and I'm sure the lesson about patience and waiting are ones I am still learning, but that doesn't make it any easier.

Today we had acolyte training at church. Several grade school kids wanted to learn how to light the candles before worship. The symbolism of bringing in and taking out the light, combined with their young and hopeful spirits made my day. Perhaps their eager embrace of the light can be an example.