Santa Claus Day???

Today is my daughter's birthday, and it is also St. Nicholas' Day!

I have two brief thoughts that I want to share this Advent season, on the subject of Santa Claus. And they are both anectdotes about my, now, four-year-old daughter. :)

1) Last night, we had a birthday party for Ana. It was a great time, and at the end, my wife started to give out little gift bags for the children who came. Ana saw this happening and excitedly asked, "What else can we give away?" I praise God that, while she was very enthusiastic about receiving her gifts -- thanks everyone! -- she was also very interested in giving gifts! Luke writes, that Paul said, that Jesus said, "It is more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts 20:35). Amen! Beware greed!


Segue: We do not want to deceive our children into "believing in" Santa Clause. I have too many thoughts on this to attempt to explain here. Here are three brief scripture which I think support my case, but even moreso, I hope this anectdote will suffice to illustrate.

2) The weekend before Thanksgiving was Light-Up Night in downtown Pittsburgh. We went into one building which was all decked out. Ana looked across the crowd from where we were, and exclaimed, "Look! There's a man all dressed up as Santa Claus!" That was one of my most proud moments, I think.
Some obvservations: she clearly recognized the jolly, old character. She was even excited about him! BUT she was not deceived into thinking that this was Santa Claus himself. I don't know about your kids, but my kids "make believe" all the time: various stories come to life in our household, with all of us playing different parts. And while in the game, we are strictly in character, we all know who we are in reality.

Kids know how to pretend! Children need not be lied to to enjoy Santa Claus. That statement stands by itself. But, more importantly, nothing should overshadow the reason we celebrate Christmas (i.e. the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us (John 1:14)) or the Season of Advent (i.e. remembering Jesus' first coming even as we anticipate his return). Doing so is distracting, at best. But, it seems to me, sadly, that Santa and gifts are typically far more than a mere distration...

I shall now step down from my soap box, for the time being, and direct you to: Wikipedia info on Santa origins. :)

Happy Advent, and enjoy the Christ's Mass!

On Loving God

I read this last night for Church History:

"Who would dream of offering a man a reward for doing something he wants to do?...How much more the soul that loves God seeks no other reward than that God whom it loves. Were the soul to demand anything else, then it would certainly love that other thing and not God....[Jesus] gave himself to merit for us; he keeps himself to be our reward; he serves himself as food for holy souls; he sold himself in ransom for captive souls. O Lord, you are so good to the soul who seeks you, what must you be to the one who finds you?...Who confesses the Lord, not because he is good to him but because the Lord is good, truly loves God for God's sake and not for his own benefit." - 12th century abbot, Bernard of Clairvaux, excerpted from his treatise, "On Loving God."

I wanted to share this quote today because 1) it's incredible and I need to think it through, and 2) I think it applies to how I am called by Jesus to live...and vote.

Fall Days

Playroom trip to the Pumpkin Patch


Zeke and friend Lucy

Playing around

Aunt Amy came to visit
Ana is pushing Zeke

First Day of School

Jeff starts seminary today and the kids start in the playroom. Both kids were sad that we left them, which tugged at my heart, but I know they will have fun. I'm sure Jeff will have fun learning, too.

We are at the beginning of a new season in our family. It is exciting to see what the next four years bring.

Shelves

Jeff has made some home improvements by adding three shelves. One in the stairwell to the basement and the other two in the kitchen. He did a great job!

You are beautiful

I just finished reading this wonderful book called Little Lamb Who Made Thee?: A Book about Children and Parents by Walter Wangerin, Jr. He writes about being a kid, a parent of young children, a parent of teenagers, adoption, children with disabilities, grandparents, when your parents get older, and being a pastor of others. So really every aspect of parenting. It is a great book and I recommend it. One chapter he writes a letter to a teenager who has just attempted suicide because of abuse by her father. I wanted to share an excerpt from it because it is so good. It was difficult to pick what I should include because it was all so well said. I hope you mediate on what he writes:

Listen to me! You are beautiful. You are beautiful. If you think you’re ugly, you’ve let a fool define you. Don’t! Touch your throat. It is a column of wind and words. Stroke your forehead. Though moves through its caverns. Imagination lives in there. You are the handiwork of the Creator. You are his best art, his poem, his portrait, his image, his face- and his child.

And if the Lord God took thought to create you, why would you let a sinner define you?

. . .God conceived of time and in that instant considered the purposeful thump of your heart- and the blink of your eyelid.

God made galaxies and metagalaxies, the dusty infinitude of the universe-then filled your mind with dreams as with stars.

You are not an accident. You were planned. You are the cunning intention of almighty God. Well, then, shall you think ill of yourself? NO! You shall think as well of yourself as you do of any marvel of the Deity.

Please, my sister, do not allow a sinner to steal you from yourself. You are too rare. No matter what filth has befouled you, your soul is unique in the cosmos. There is none like you. Whatever thing you admire-a leaf, a little cup, a sunset-you are more beautiful.

Sleep peacefully, you. God loves you. And so do I. And so ought you in the morning light, when the dew is a haze of blue innocence. But sleep now, child, in perfect peace. You are God’s, who spreads wide, holy wings above you now.

Pool and ice cream

Incline

Playing around the city

The 'Burgh

We have been enjoying our time in our new home. It has been a bit crazy and the kids (especially Zeke) are still adjusting. I miss the community of central OH, but I am grateful that we are continually running into folks we know in the 'burgh. We have had many visitors already and look forward to whoever else may stop by.

Also, a note of one of the many crazy moments as parents: Good surprise-your child peeing in the potty in the bathroom. Bad surprise-your child peeing on the floor next to the potty and then the parent stepping in it. You get the idea:)

Here are some pics:

The Sound

I just saw this music video, by Switchfoot, inspired by a Jubilee speaker from this past year, John Perkins.

Wow! Check it out...



Here are the lyrics:


The Static comes in slow
You can feel it grow
Our stream of conscience flows
Under the streets below

Ooooh

Ooooh

The rivers made of sound
Still running underground
Runs like a silent flood
We run as thick as blood

Ooooh

Ooooh

Can you hear it rise
Up from the ground
Can’t drown it out
Can you hear it now

This is the sound of a heartbeat
This is the sound of the discontented mouths
Of a haunted nation
We are the voice of breaking down

Can you hear me?
This is the sound of the desperation bound
By our own collision
We are the voice of breaking down

The static comes alive
Beneath the broken skies
John Perkins said it right
Love is the final fight

Let it rise above
Rise above
There is no song
Louder than love

This is the sound of a heartbeat
this is the sound of the discontented mouths
of a haunted nation
we are the voice of breaking down

Can you hear me?
This is the sound of the desperation bound
by our own collision
we are the voice of breaking down

Down

Down

Down

Can you hear it rise
Up from the ground
Can't drown it out
Can you hear it now

This is the sound of a heartbeat
This is the sound of the discontented mouths
Of a haunted nation, we are the voice of breaking down

Can you hear me
This is the sound of the desperation bound
by our collision, we are the voice of breaking down

This is the sound
This is the sound

Comfort

Jeff left this morning on a backpacking trip for a few days. After we said our goodbyes and the door closed Zeke threw himself onto the floor in tears. As he was throwing his 2 year old fit Ana quietly laid down beside him lifted his chin, so he was looking at her, and said, "Just remember Zeke. I love you." Now they are playing together. I love my kids!

The kids

After looking at multiple friends' blogs I realized we haven't posted pics of the kids in awhile, so here are a few.

Zeke enjoying chocolate chip pancakes at the Pancake House in Nashville
Zeke at "Dragon Park" in Nashville
Jeff at "Dragon Park" in Nashville
Ana at "Dragon Park" in Nashville
Ana at a local playground, she climbed up there by herself!

Wait

Good Friday.

The Innocent One, condemned, sentenced to death.

The Disciples, scattered, scared.

Darkness over the earth...

But also, the Curtain torn!

The powers of evil, exhausted!

In January, over the course of just a few days, I found out that:

~A friend's father had been in terrible car accident.

~A relative lost their baby, in utero.

~A friend shared about visiting someone in the hospital.

I cried out to God! And he comforted me. The grief didn't subside, but the promise of New Creation rang out. Check out what Paul writes to the church at Rome about this.

At any rate, I wrote this poem on January 11th, the day before Port-au-Prince, Haiti was hit by a terrible earthquake.

I thought it would be appropriate to share acrostic poem on this Good Friday.

"Wait"

What do we do, when

Every day brings pain and suffering?

What do we do, when

All people mourn,

Infants are stillborns, and

The norm is disease and death?

Please, dry our tears, and redeem

All

Things!

In the end, God will make

Everything

New!

Today, we grieve, hope and say:

Lord Jesus, come!

Yes, come quickly, we pray!