An Advent Poem

Through exile and Roman occupation,
Israel awaited for a Messiah to come
And bring salvation and healing
To the land and the people.
The Messiah, however, came humbly
With no pomp and circumstance,
Born amidst the squalor of a stable.
Few people took notice--
Just some shepherds caught unaware
By the heralding of the heavenly host,
And a group of astronomers from pagan lands
Who watched the skies for signs
And responded to a heavenly announcement
As given by a distant star.

We still wait for the Messiah today.
His first coming ended with
A promise of return.
May we not be caught unawares
Because we ignored the signs.
May our hearts be prepared
To receive the fullness of His glory
No matter how humbly
Or ceremoniously His return is.
With yearning hearts and redeemed lives,
May we herald the Messiah's coming.
Not just during Advent
As we lead into the celebration
Of His birth,
But everyday may we live
In anticipation of the coming
Of God's only Son.

Be Strengthened

"The eyes of the LORD search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him" (II Chronicles 16:9 NLT). I'm taking a break in my reading for today to reflect on this verse that jumped out at me. Sometimes I know I pray, "Lord, give me strength." But I pray it flippantly, expecting God to just give because I ask. But the Bible says that we have to do our part as well. Isaiah 40:31 that strength will be renewed for those who hope in the Lord (or wait upon the Lord). The Chronicler says that we must have hearts that are fully committed to God. Then, God searches us out to strenghten us. That's encouraging--if I am truly committed to God. A good reminder, though: do your part and God does His. And His part enables us to keep doing our part. How can we go wrong?

Ancient Art, Swiss Guards and Papal Vestements

This afternoon Beth and I had a date. I know. It was exciting for us, too. A good friend whom we've met through church watched the boys for us. Through a radio station (KTIS) I obtained free tickets for Vatican Splendors exhibit at the Minnesota History Center (which would have been a $40 cost otherwise). The parking lot was unattended, so we didn't even have to pay there! Which is also exciting for us, right now.

It was a fascinating exhibit. It started with ancient art works, depicting the gospel story and Christian history. We even saw a reliquary which supposedly holds a bone fragment from Saint Peter. It went on into art and architecture from Saint Peter's Basilica (the first cathedral as well as the current one). There was a display of the uniforms, weaponry and history of the Swiss Guard (which, if you get a chance to see their outfits, you'll understand why Switzerland doesn't fight in any wars).

It then moved into some of the papal history and items from several of the Popes including many from Pope John Paul II and Benedict XVI. It helped gain a deeper appreciation for the history of many rituals and the meanings behind them (which I think are often forgotten).
It was fun to see works by Giotto and Michelangelo among others. I enjoy seeing how scenes from Jesus' life are depicted differently--how many artists place those events in their own time period and settings or the little details they add to a scene. It was neat to see items that haven't been displayed to the public before.

The Vatican itself isn't a huge draw for us, but we appreciate the history of the church and the meaning behind the traditions and rituals. We enjoyed learning more of the faith many of the church leaders exhibited (one of the Pope's sold the papal crown in order to give the money to the poor). It was just cool to be connected to so much Christian history (especially if that really was St. Peter's bone!). The church's history (by which I mean the Body of Christ universal throughout time) hasn't been perfect--just as none of us are perfect. But God has used it despite that. Just as He uses us to bring about His will in this world. Just as He used a stinky barn in little Bethlehem to give the world the greatest gift it has ever known. That is where the Splendor of God starts. In humble beginnings.

There's No Place Like Home for The Holidays . . .

Which is why my family goes somewhere else. For the past few years, my parents have started taking everyone to a weekend away instead of buying us presents (of course, the grandkids still get plenty). It cuts down on some of the stress of finding beds for everyone and orchestrating meals and activities. So, this past weekend we were at a hotel with a water park in Okoboji.

The boys had a great time with FarFar & FarMor, uncles & aunts, cousins and Bella (my sister's dog & Nils' favorite cousin it seems). Really, they could get by without getting any presents, but of course people buy for them. Just to make our job of teaching them that Christmas isn't about the presents, it seems. But of course, the boys enjoy the gifts (they've been wearing the new clothes, reading the new books and playing with the new toys nonstop), and we can't take away from others the joy of giving. It is fun to watch kids open presents.

We drove back yesterday on the edge of a major blizzard system. Thankfully the DOT websites weren't accurate--the roads were fine. And now its back to real life: washing clothes, putting things away, serving coffee (not me, but Beth's doing that today). It's too bad we can't spend more time in the celebration and revelry of the holidays. Of course, maybe these short times together help us appreciate and want to be with our family a little more.

Beyond the Lamp Post

This week Anders and I finished reading the last book in the Chronicles of Narnia series. We've been at it for a while, reading a chapter here and there during rest time of all seven books. He doesn't get everything yet, of course (they're a bit beyond his age level), but he enjoys the adventure and imagination in the stories. I think he even understands some of the deeper meanings. He likes to put on some of the knight costume pieces we have, don a sword and be High King Peter.

It's great to get to share stories with him and re-experience them myself. I find I gain more and more appreciation for how the Shadowlands give us glimpses of eternity.

Small Things Hide Greatness

"Yes," said Queen Lucy, "in our world, too, a stable once had something inside it that was bigger than our whole world."

- C.S. Lews, The Last Battle

Let It Snow

It's been snowing since mid-afternoon and doesn't look to be letting up until early tomorrow morning. We'll maybe get 3-5 inches out of it. My poor wife had over an hour commute home (which is normally 20 minutes). After she finished her supper, we took the boys out to the park next to our apartment to do some sledding on the hill. It was well past sunset, so we didn't get any pictures of it, but sledding in the dark is kind of fun. Of course, it wasn't that dark--I enjoy the glow created by city lights between the snow on the ground and the snow in the sky. It was good to get out of the house--we need that during this time of year (as you can tell by their glazed-over expressions in the picture). And when I live in a climate with cold winters, I want the snow (the wind can go elsewhere, however).

'Tis the Season

Yesterday, Anders got to go with a friend to a concert. Before hand they could try some instruments, learn about conducting and gain the knowledge that the violin bow string is made from horse hair (Anders' favorite fact for the day). The concert was the Nutcracker with some jazz music as well. Apparently, the music was the best when there were dancers along with it.

Last night we went over to another couple's home. It's nice to start having some of those opportunities again, now that we've been here a while and are getting to know people. We had a family we've gotten know well over after church today as well.

Right now, if I knew how to do stuff with video on here at all, you'd be watching Nils do his version of dancing (which he has picked up through the hip hop services at church) to Nat King Cole singing Christmas songs.

Yesterday was St. Nicholas Day. We didn't have time yesterday to observe it all together. So this morning, before church we did our presents. We first talked about who St. Nicholas was, how he gave people gifts instead of using his wealth to buy more for himself, and how his name became "Santa Claus." We told the boys about how he gave to others because he loved Jesus; we talked about how God gave us Jesus and how Jesus wants us to give to others. Anders and Beth had recently taken a box of presents we had purchased down to the local headquarters for Operation Christmas Child (through Samaritan's Purse) which we learned would be sent to a boy in Trinidad who wouldn't get presents otherwise. So we discussed how we did that, like St. Nicholas did, because Jesus wants us to take care of others instead of focusing on the things we want others to give us.

Anders had recently seen some of the old classic Christmas specials on TV. He's got some things from those stories mixed into St. Nicholas's story, but over all he knows that Jesus is the best present we could receive. So, Santa Claus won't be visiting our house on Christmas morning, but hopefully we're all learning about giving instead of focusing on what we want for ourselves. I know for myself, though, that's it's not an easy habit to break.

Growing Up

Yesterday morning I got to watch my niece, who is now two months old, as my sister returned to work for the first time. It was a treat--as well as a new adventure. I haven't watched a baby (especially a girl!) by myself for a while--and definitely not with two other boys to take care of. She slept the majority of the time. Which was good, except she wouldn't sleep on the bed, only on my shoulder. So I re-learned doing chores around the house with just one hand. The boys were good helpers. And they love their cousin.

Last night I went to a Kindergarten information meeting. It's different for us being in a large city where we have a choice as to which school we send Anders to. The one that we're in the district for seems really good--we're also going to look out the city's Spanish immersion school. It's hard to believe we'll have a kid in school already. But he's ready for it. He's reading and writing some words already. And he'll love being with other kids.

Nils had apparently found the right buttons on the camera. I found this picture on it last night. That's our Nils.

Der Tannenbaum

We put up the tree and decorated the house yesterday (it really doesn't take all that long in our apartment). It's pretty early for us. It seemed fitting, being the first Sunday in Advent and all. Speaking of, that's the part of "contemporary worship" that I miss: celebrating the church calendar. We found some family Advent devotionals online that we're going to try using.

It's fun to watch Advent unfold through the boys' eyes. Nils doesn't really remember any of this, so it's all new. We'll see if the tree survives him, though. Anders knows what it's all about. He knows all the characters in the nativity scene and what their roles are. I think he's even getting the "giving" aspect of Christmas: we enjoyed putting a shoe box together for Operation Christmas Child.