Light a Candle: Peace

We are now into the second week of Advent. I have somehow managed to avoid the hustle and bustle of the holidays thus far this year. Now we will venture into the lighting of the second candle of Advent: Peace.

Peace. For some ungodly reason, consumerism has shaped this holiday into "hustle and bustle," and rushing around to buy gifts and get everything else done for the holiday. I am simply letting that pass me by this year. I feel like I am standing still and the rest of the world is a blur around me. This is just fine with me--after all, it is a lot less stressful! Peace and modern day consumerism seem to be complete opposites of one another. Take this for instance: "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled. Do not be afraid." John 14:27. Sounds to me like some people have the whole idea of Christmas backwards... or as Advent Conspiracy will tell you, "Upside Down." The peace of Advent is a quiet, still, and patient longing for the birth of our Savior.

Waiting Here for You. This is the name of both a book and a song. In his short Advent book, Pastor Louie Giglio says, "Waiting is not wasting when we are waiting on the Lord." Ironically, it's a quick read if you're interested in purchasing this book, it is $5: http://268store.com/store/product/933/Waiting-Here-For-You/. It helps bridge the 2,000 year gap and explains why everything that happened so long ago is relevant today. Furthermore, Giglio helps build anticipation... which, according to him, is essential during the Advent season.

The video to the song "Waiting Here for You" by Christy Nockels can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3OEGnH5x8g, and I highly recommend it, especially as we continue to wait for Christmas to arrive.

Peace be with you!

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Light a Candle: Hope

First and foremost... bad news bears: Nelson Mandela has passed away at age 95. He was such an inspirational leader in South Africa, and really, made a great impact on the world. We need more people like him.

Today, we'll talk about the Advent candles and what they symbolize.

Hope.  Light is a strong theme throughout the Advent and Christmas seasons. Up here in PA, where the days get shorter and shorter as we approach Christmas, this symbol of light is also very literal. With all of the darkness, we tend to look forward to the light. With all of the cold, we tend to look forward to the warmth. The first candle that we light during Advent is the Candle of Hope. I've seen hope in several places this week...

'Tips for Jesus.' Apparently people from a movement, @tipsforjesus, have been leaving unheard of and "crazy generous" tips on their tabs at bars and restaurants. Read the full article for specific examples!!

'Christmas Smile' : A Book for Every Child. An effort backed by Chris Tomlin (Christian Rock artist) to give a book to every child in the city of Atlanta this Christmas season. Watch the video to see how you can get involved!

'Reimagining Christmas.'  A background article about how the Advent Conspiracy got started!

Fortunately, if you are looking for hope in this world, you need not look far! Great things are happening everyday. I encourage you to be a part of it if you are able and willing. Hope is always within reach.

Happy Advent!

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."

Romans 15:13

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Advent Resources

Today is the first day of Advent! Wooohooo! November is finally over, and we are officially into the waiting period of the Christmas season--Advent. It is my favorite time of year, so I decided to share a few resources with you all in hopes that you may utilize one or more.

Olivia's Advent Calendar. I've mentioned this in previous posts, but today was the first day of the Olivia Advent Calendar. She and her family will be posting a video each and every day during the Advent season. They post links to the newest video on their Facebook page!

Facebook page: "Olivia's Advent Calendar"

This years "theme" is different than in years previous, so I thought I would also share the link to my favorite EVER video... just in case the video from today seems too long for your liking.

Favorite: "I Hate It When My Snakes Fall Off"

Following the Star. Another yearly Advent thing that I try to keep up with is the "Following the Star" Devotional. It is specifically devoted to this season of the year! It only takes about five minutes, and I highly recommend it.

http://www.d365.org/followingthestar/

The Journey of Advent Conspiracy. One last resource I will leave you with is the Advent Conspiracy website. It delves into the contradiction of consumerism that this time of year seems to produce in the States. Furthermore, it suggests, dare I say, a radical new idea of what we as the human race could do instead of participating in the fad of consumerism.

http://www.adventconspiracy.org/

Anyway, I leave you with this week's NT reading from the Revised Common Lectionary.

"And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here."

Romans 13:11-12


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Thanks-living

Hey everyone. I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. From what I saw on Facebook this morning, most of you are very happy, very thankful, and very full human beings! I spent the day at work, but I still was able to eat Thanksgiving dinner and salvage the day! =)

Kid for President. I was originally going to write a post about being thankful and living in such a way, but instead, I found this video and thought it was worth sharing. So watch it and enjoy:

http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-11785/20-things-we-should-say-more-often.html

Black Thursday. Since when did Black Friday become Black Thursday? This year, most stores were open and started their deals the night of Thanksgiving. I don't agree with the whole premise of Black Whatever-Day-It-Is, but what is the thrill in moving it to Thanksgiving night? Back in the good ol days, when I was growing up, you had to wake up suuuuuuupppppper early to even think about getting any deals! Now, you get deals if you sacrifice your Thanksgiving. Isn't that simply sending the message that consumerism > family? Just a thought.

Olivia's Advent Calendar. Advent begins this Sunday! Wahooo! I love advent. One of the newer things I enjoy about advent is Olivia's Advent Calendar. It is a daily video made by this young girl and her family of her opening her advent calendar every single day. I'll spare you additional details, but it is definitely worth checking out. Here are some from last year:

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=olivia%27s+advent+calendar+2012&sm=3

Catching Fire. Adam and I saw Catching Fire last weekend, and it was very good. I highly recommend that you all go and see it! I'm not going to lie, it brought me to tears a time or two.

Enjoy your weekend!

"Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. 

I will strengthen you and help you."

Isaiah 41:10

Catching Fire

Today marks the day of the release of the 2nd of three Hunger Games movies entitled Catching Fire. I won't be seeing it until tomorrow, but based on the trailers and reviews, it is a must see. IMDB has it rated at 8.2 out of 10 stars! Just to give you a frame of reference...

The Dark Knight Rises: 8.6 stars
Avengers: 8.2 stars
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 2: 8.1 stars
The Hobbit: 8.0 stars
Thor, The Dark World: 7.7 stars
Iron Man 3: 7.4 stars

Read more about the movie and watch the trailer here: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1951264/?ref_=nv_sr_1

Hunger Games Trilogy. I am a strong believer in reading books before you see any movie based on a book. I have read all three Hunger Games books, and I must say that thus far they have done a pretty good job with the movies. The director has not cut out overly important scenes, the special effects are better than I could have hoped for, and the cast is impressive! I have extremely high expectations for this movie because the 2nd book, Catching Fire, is my favorite of the trilogy of books. Adam and I are going to see the movie tomorrow after work, and I can't wait! If the trailers are good representations of the movie, I will not be disappointed (they give me goosebumps every time).

Divergent. I just finished a book entitled Divergent by Veronica Roth. It is the first of a trilogy of books: Divergent, Insurgent, Allegiant. I am a sucker for book series. Anyway, this book is in many ways similar to the Hunger Games. If you enjoy the Hunger Games, I am sure you will enjoy Divergent. They are also making it into a motion picture sometime in March. Watch the trailer here: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1840309/?ref_=nv_sr_1.

Enjoy your weekend everyone!

"Above all, love each other deeply..." 1 Peter 4:8

Different Isn't Dangerous

Hello again! I have officially taken up my blog once again and plan on writing a new post every Tuesday (maybe more often as the Advent season is swiftly approaching). I believe that my recent experiences with the church have made me slightly less oblivious to the things going on around me. Therefore, I invite each and every one of you to comment below if you agree or disagree in any way with the things I say. I doubt everyone will agree... especially with this topic.

Gay marriage. Who cares if gay people want to get married? As a matter of fact, who cares if someone is gay? I don't understand why there are so many people out there that have such an issue with gay marriage and gay people. People are people, and even more importantly, everyone (whether you personally like them or not) is a child of God. I'm honestly waiting for some of the homophobic/ anti-gay readers to come at me with their Bible swords, unsheathed and prepared to argue... Please, I'm inviting any disagreement. I'm eager to see how someone can use a story of love to promote hate, judgment, marginalization, and condemnation.

Different is dangerous. Why is it that people who are different from you are oftentimes considered dangerous and a threat? Different people should be feared, and we need to protect ourselves from them and "their ways." I've heard this all before in so many ways... and let me tell you, I am sick and tired of it. "Do not judge, or you too shall be judged." Don't open someone else's closet if your aren't ready to reveal or own. So I say to the secular haters... please, I'm inviting your hypocritical disagreements.

Pure hate and nothing else. To me, it takes so much more effort to hate than to love. To hate, you are intentionally using your energy to promote conflict, dissension, pain, hurt, and fear. To love, you are letting go of unfair judgments and letting your heart do what it does naturally. I'm not saying it is easy to love, but I think it is certainly our homeostasis... our natural tendency. And we need a whole lot of love to battle the vast amounts of hate in this world,. So you, all of you, get to work!

Here is a quick read for everyone: Pastor Faces Church Sanctions for Officiating Same-Sex Marriage

^^Good for him!^^

"Now eagerly desire the greater gifts, and yet I will show you a still more excellent way."

I Corinthians 12:30-31

Related posts: General Conference [Not Assembly]

Spiritual Scars

It has been a long while since I wrote a blog post--almost a year and a half, as a matter of fact-- and so much has changed in that period of time. I no longer attend Princeton Seminary, I haven't been to a church willingly since April 29, 2012, and my observations about the Kingdom seem to have changed from "idealistic" to "realistic." At first, I thought it was anger that I felt toward the Church and God, but the more and more I thought about it over this time, it is actually frustration that I feel within myself. Permit me to give a little background before I jump right into my main point.

Bursting my bubble. If you were an avid reader of this blog, you may recall several posts where I referred to being in a Christian bubble while at seminary. Well, my bubble was torn open May 2, 2012 when my grandmother passed away. Without going into great detail, the only people I felt genuine support and sorrow from were non-church going friends and my predominantly non-believing family members. Furthermore, the church handled the funeral in a very "money-seeking," "members-only" kind of way. I was unable to receive communion because of my un-affiliation with the Catholic church, and I was rebuked for not kneeling before entering the altar area... "This is holy ground, ya know!" They treated "different" as "dangerous," and this is when I realized I left the safety of seminary.

By the numbers. It was hard to pretend that I was alright after the passing of my grandmother. The circumstances following her death, PTSem's handling of my "time-off" from May term, and financial burdens were among key factors in my decision not to return to Princeton. Since that decision...
     I have received ONE email from a pastor (a reply, actually).
     I have been contacted ZERO times by my session; ZERO times from my session or presbytery liaison.
     I answered THREE phone calls from a CPM secretary.
     I replied to TWO emails inquiring about my return to PTSem ("yes" or "no," not "why" emails).
     I received at least FIFTY facebook messages between two women from my church.
          -One of these women does not even work or attend there anymore; the other I have always admired.
          -ZERO messages, calls, or emails from everyone else.
Presbyterians have never rebuked me for standing on holy ground, but they have taught me to expect more in the way of hospitality, caring for others, and above all, love.

Spiritual Scars. I always wondered what it would feel like to have spiritual wounds. How badly would it hurt? Would it involve being angry and hating God? Would I feel bitter and resentful? Lost and broken? Would I come to no longer believe? I felt sad, lost, and frustrated... and maybe a little responsible and guilty. I used to think "If I didn't leave Princeton, maybe the church would not have turned its back on me..." I don't regret my decision to leave Princeton, but I do bear the spiritual scars from the consequences of that decision.

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." John 14:27