2007 reads...

It’s time for my annual list of books read. I was holding off in hopes that I could add my last couple Word Made Flesh pre-departure required books to the list. But, looks like those last two will start off my 2008 list instead, since I don’t plan on reading my way through New Year’s Eve. You will quickly notice the common reading themes of spiritual formation/spirituality, missions, and poverty. The cool thing is I can see how all these books have further shaped and formed my life in 2007. It’s difficult to even pick out a few favorites. I'm sure I will referring back to most of these books in the future.

My goal for 2008….more fiction! The Kite Runner grabbed me and inspired me to read more stories and fiction! Maybe once I get through my pre-departure reading, I can pack up a couple good fiction reads in my bags for Argentina. I know Wendall Berry is a writer I want to read. Any other suggestions anyone?

Eat This Book: A Conversation in the Art of Spiritual Reading, Eugene Peterson
Companion to the Poor: Christ in the Urban Slums, Viv Grigg
The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical, Shane Claiborne
Submerge: Living Deep in a Shallow World, John B. Hayes
Announcing the Reign of God, Mortimer Arias
Missions & Money: Affluence as a Missionary Problem, Jonathon Bonk
Invitation to a Journey: A Road Map for Spiritual Formation, Robert Mulholland
We Drink from Our Own Wells: The Spiritual Journey of a People, Gustavo Gutierrez
The Art of Crossing Cultures, Craig Storti
Poverty, Raneiro Cantalamessa
Travel Well, Christine Aroney-Sine
The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini
Sacred Listening: Discovering the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius Loyola, James Wakefield
Come Be My Light: The Private Writings of the Saint of Calcutta, Mother Teresa

Christ Candle

Lighting the Center Christ Candle:
Sing to the Lord a new song, for God has done marvelous things;
God’s right hand and holy arm have worked salvation.
Today in the city of David a Savior has been born to you.
The Lord has made salvation known and revealed righteousness to the nations.
Today in the city of David a Savior has been born to you.
God has remembered his love and faithfulness to the people; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of God.
Today in the city of David a Savior has been born to you.
Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music; make music to the Lord with the harp, with the harp and the sound of singing.
Today in the city of David a Savior has been born to you.
Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy; let them sing before the Lord, for God comes to judge the earth. The Lord will judge the world with righteousness and the people with equity.

Today in the city of David a Savior has been born to you.

We have now light the four outside candles of the Advent Wreath. The first candle reminds us of hope. The second candle is the candle of peace. The third candle represents our joy. The fourth candle is for love, our love of God, and God’s love for us. We now light the center candle, the Christ candle. Jesus Christ is our HOPE. Jesus Christ gives us PEACE. We can have JOY because Jesus has come to us. Jesus is God’s greatest gift of LOVE. And because of God’s loving gift of Jesus Christ, we have life now nd forever.
Today in the city of David a Savior has been born to you.

We Pray Together:
Loving God, we are thankful that the waiting of Advent is over. We rejoice that today in the city of David a Savior is born. We rejoice that our hope is fulfilled, and God’s peace has come to earth. We rejoice that we can fully know God’s love in Jesus Christ. Help us to celebrate today and always that a Savior has been born to us. Amen.

Taken from: http://images.rca.org/docs/discipleship/advent-readings.pdf

Immanuel & Jesus

This weeks Scriptures for the Fourth Week of Advent include Isaiah 7:10-16 & Matthew 1:18-25. I have really enjoyed these weekly readings from the Revised Common Lectionary and have decided to continue on with the readings this new church calendar year.(http://www.crivoice.org/lectionary/YearA/Aadventlist.html)

Isaiah proclaims, "The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel." In Matthew, an angel of the Lord appears to Joseph in a dream and proclaims the fulfillment of this prophecy of Immanuel ("God with us"). He also tells Joseph to give him the name Jesus, which means "God saves." Yesterday I read a helpful homily on the significance of these two names for Jesus, Immanuel and Jesus. Here is an excerpt:

“This name, Jesus (the Greek transliteration of the Hebrew Jeshua), means “God saves,” and the angel tells Joseph quite clearly what this infant will save the Jews from: “he will save his people from their sins.” God-is-with-us, therefore, for the purpose of saving-us-from-our sins. The Son of God didn’t become God-with-us merely to “hang with us,” as the teenage colloquialism goes, but to hang FOR us. He took upon our human nature so that He could give that nature as an expiation for our sins. But not only does the name Jesus interpret the name Emmanuel, but the name Jesus also makes possible Emmanuel, because Jesus saved us from our sins so that we could be much more fully WITH HIM who came to be WITH US. Our sins prevent communion with God, and hence Jesus, in coming to save us from them, was making possible the fulfillment of the prophetic name Emmanuel.”

(From a Homily for this Fourth Sunday of Advent by Father Roger J. Landry)

Lo, How A Rose E'Er Blooming

This morning I was reminded of this great Christmas hymn this rose rejoicing week of Advent. My personal favorite renditions are from Dorothy Collins and Sufjan Stevens.

LO, HOW A ROSE E’ER BLOOMING
Lo, how a Rose e’er blooming from tender stem hath sprung!

Of Jesse’s lineage coming, as men of old have sung.

It came, a floweret bright, amid the cold of winter,

When half spent was the night.

Isaiah ’twas foretold it, the Rose I have in mind;

With Mary we behold it, the virgin mother kind.

To show God’s love aright, she bore to men a Savior,

When half spent was the night.

The shepherds heard the story proclaimed by angels bright,

How Christ, the Lord of glory was born on earth this night.

To Bethlehem they sped and in the manger found Him,

As angel heralds said.

This Flower, whose fragrance tender with sweetness fills the air,

Dispels with glorious splendor the darkness everywhere;

True Man, yet very God, from sin and death He saves us,

And lightens every load.

O Savior, Child of Mary, who felt our human woe,

O Savior, King of glory, who dost our weakness know;

Bring us at length we pray, to the bright courts of Heaven,

And to the endless day!

what do you see and hear?

This past Sunday I was craving some good ‘ol Advent worship liturgy on Rose Rejoicing Sunday. Since my primary worship gathering with my church family is on Sunday evenings, I have enjoyed exploring other worship traditions on Sunday mornings every now and then. This Sunday I attended All Saints Anglican Church here in Long Beach. The worship and liturgy was refreshing and just what I was yearning for this pink candle week of Advent. The worship was a meaningful and thoughtful weaving of singing, Scripture reading, corporate prayer, and communion.

The pastor’s message was from Matthew 11:2-11, one of the scriptures for week three of Advent from the Revised Common Lectionary (www.crivoice.org/lectionary/YearA/Aadventlist.html). John the Baptist is in prison and sends his disciples to ask Jesus if he is the one they have waited for. Jesus responds by saying, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the def hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them.”

A great passage to listen to and contemplate! The pastor’s message focused on the hearing and seeing of the Kingdom of God. It caused me to consider what signs of the Kingdom I see and hear this Advent? And how am I an active participant of that evidence and good news today?

The other thing I really appreciated about All Saints Church was the intentionality in the preparation and the waiting of Advent. Advent is really a season to prepare ourselves for the celebration of Christmas and the Twelve Days of Christmas (until Epiphany on January 6). All Saints Church actually holds off in hanging the Advent greens and decorating the church until after the fourth Sunday of Advent. So, the people will return Christmas Eve and begin the celebration of Christmas and the Twelve Days of Christmas. The pastor of the church actually holds off saying Merry Christmas until Christmas Day and the days following Christmas. This all got me thinking about what rhythms I can build into Advent that better practice the waiting of the season and in turn make the celebration and arrival of Christ Mass all the sweeter.

Here is a link to understanding more about the Twelve Days of Christmas in the church calendar. (And here all this time, I thought it was just a corny song about giving birds as gifts!) www.crivoice.org/cy12days.html

rose rejoicing sunday

Tomorrow we light the pink candle to begin the third week of Advent. Last year my Advent illiteracy became evident when I asked, “Why one pink candle?” The more I learn about the “pink candle” the more I grow to appreciate the theme of joy represented this third week of Advent. The following is a summary for “Rose Rejoicing Sunday” taken from my favorite church calendar website: http://www.crivoice.org/cyadvent.html.

"The third candle, usually for the Third Sunday of Advent, is traditionally Pink or Rose, and symbolizes Joy at the soon Advent of the Christ. In the four weeks of Advent the third Sunday came to be a time of rejoicing that the fasting was almost over (in some traditions it is called Gaudete Sunday, from the Latin word for "rejoice"). The shift from the purple of the Season to pink or rose for the third Sunday Advent candles reflected this lessening emphasis on penitence as attention turned more to celebration of the season.

The rose candle is lit on the third Sunday of Advent, referred to as "Gaudete" or "Rose Rejoicing" Sunday (from the epistle and introit which speak of "rejoicing in the Lord always"). "Rose Rejoicing Sunday" shows how anticipated joy over our Savior's coming breaks through all our serious Advent preparation."

As I begin to prepare for the Third Sunday of Advent, Rose Rejoicing Sunday, I discovered an inspiring homily by Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann. This homily on John the Baptist really continued to connect the dots for me in understanding deeper hope and joy because of Jesus. Here is an expert that especially grabbed me….

The Power to Hope and the Capacity for Joy Always and Everywhere
"I was reminded recently of the remarkable power of Jesus to give His disciples joy and hope, even in the most dreadful circumstances, while reading Advent of the Heart, a collection of Advent homilies and reflections by the German Jesuit, Father Alfred Delp. Like John the Baptist, Father Delp found himself incarcerated for his opposition to the Nazis. On February 2, 1945 Father Delp would be executed, as was John the Baptist, for his refusal to compromise the truth.

Writing with handcuffs around his wrists from his prison cell in December of 1944, Father Delp reflected on the meaning of this Third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday: “The conditions for true joy have nothing to do with the conditions of our exterior life, but consist of man’s interior frame of mind and competence, which makes it possible now and again for him to sense, even in adverse circumstances, what life is basically about.”

Father Delp concluded this prison meditation on joy, fully aware of the probability of his own imminent execution, by noting that the many sources of joy found in this world can all “fall silent.” He asserted that life’s meaning and the source of enduring joy was not to be found in the world’s fleeting pleasures. Instead, Father Delp wrote: “. . . man becomes healthy through the order of God and in nearness to God. That is also where he becomes capable of joy and happiness.”

We are called to be witnesses of hope in a world that provides so many reasons for despair. Our task is not to teach theories but to provide living testimonies of the power of the Risen Jesus alive within us to give us hope and joy amidst all the difficulties and struggles of this world."
For the entire homily see: http://www.cuf.org/Homilies/Archive/121607.asp

Life Takes Flight

On Wednesday my parents and I attended a Rose Dedication Ceremony to honor my Uncle Don for his organ donation this past spring. On New Years Day a rose in his honor will be included in Donate Life’s Family Circle Rose Float called “Life Takes Flight.”

Last March my uncle’s weak heart gave out from congestive heart failure. I came home a couple weeks early from South Africa to be with my family. It was my uncle’s desire to be an organ donor. It was an amazing and intense experience going through the organ donation process with the hospital and the doctors. My dad and I were in the operating room with my uncle when they removed life support. I was then with him two days later when he passed away and entered the presence of Jesus. I made it to the hospital less then ten minutes before he took his last breath.

It was emotional and meaningful to return to UC Irvine Medical Center this week. It was special to see some of the doctors and organ donation personnel who walked through those difficult few days with our family. Some we didn’t even remember in the fog and grief of those days.

While we miss my uncle deeply, we are grateful to know his organs gave life to others!

Here is a website that shares more about the Rose Parade float:
http://www.donatelifefloat.org/prod/components/media_center/media_kit/pr_111907.html

Active Waiting!

"In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord;

make straight in the desert a highway for our God.” ~Isaiah 40:3

“The people were waiting expectantly…” ~Luke 3:15

I love it when a familiar scripture comes alive with fresh truth! This morning in Luke 3, I noticed the people’s response to John the Baptist as he quoted Isaiah to prepare the way for the Lord. John tells the people to “produce fruit in keeping with repentance.” The people quickly respond by asking, “What should we do then?” Active waiting!

The people listened to John the Baptist, asked questions, and were eager to respond in obedience. Luke sums it up, “The people were waiting expectantly.” Active waiting!

Both Isaiah and John the Baptist proclaim the Advent of the Messiah by teaching the people to prepare the way … make straight paths … produce fruit in keeping with repentance. Active waiting!

How am I waiting expectantly for Jesus’ presence in my own life today and preparing the way for His Second Advent? Active waiting!

waiting in hope...with confident expectation

“I wait for the LORD, my whole being waits,

and in his word I put my hope.” ~Isaiah 130:5

This week I have been struck with the Advent themes of waiting and hope. The more I meditate and contemplate these themes on Scripture, the more I realize how much waiting and hope go hand and hand; they really can not be separated. It is difficult to wait without hope in confident expectation in what will come and what has already started within us.

Henri Nouwen reflects on waiting and hope based on trusting God’s promises, trusting His word….
“People who wait have received a promise that allows them to wait. They have received something that is at work in them, like a seed that has started to grow. This is very important. We can only really wait if what we are waiting for has already begun for us. So waiting is never a movement from nothing to something. It is always a movement from something to something more …. Zechariah, Elizabeth, and Mary were not filled with wishes. They were filled with hope. Hope is something very different. Hope is trusting that something will be fulfilled, but fulfilled according to the promises and not just according to our wishes. Therefore, hope is always open ended.”

(From “Waiting for God” by Henri Nowen in Watch for the Light: Readings for Advent and Christmas)

While this Advent I find myself often yearning for something more for those who are suffering and living in poverty, I take hope in God's promises and His word. Promises like Isaiah 40:31, “But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

This second Sunday of Advent I light the second candle of love. As I move from the theme of hope to love, I pray I can be attentive to God’s love in my life and all around me. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit help me know your love more deeply. Teach me to love like you!

Advent Liturgy

I discovered this amazing Advent Liturgy on the Godspace blog, written by Christine Sine. The liturgy really puts words to my contemplation, meditation, and reflection as this first week of Advent comes to a close. Christine Sine has also created a great Advent Liturgy video on the blog. This blog is sure to be a new favorite!

Advent Liturgy Video:
http://godspace.wordpress.com/2006/11/29/advent-liturgy/

Advent Liturgy

O Emmanuel we wait for your light, In hope all the peoples of the earth wait,

(Silence)

We watch and wait, expecting new light to shine as the season of joy approaches
We wait in anticipation for God’s light to penetrate the darkness and radiate within us
We watch and wait and prepare our hearts for the promised coming of Emmanuel – God with us, God for us, God in us
We wait with repentant hearts to prepare the way of the Lord
We watch and wait for the coming of the One who broke down the barriers separating us from God, from each other and from God’s creation
We wait in hope for our Redeemer, to bring God’s love into our broken world
We watch and wait to be transformed by God’s holiness so that we might serve in God’s kingdom as bearers of light and guide others to the Light
We wait expectantly for God’s Saviour to come and dwell in our midst
We await and celebrate the coming of God’s Kingdom with its promise of shalom, of wholeness, of reconciliation and abundance for all.
We wait for the fulfillment of God’s covenant, for God’s Kingdom to come in its fullness
Many nations will join themselves to the Lord on that day and will become God’s people
And the glory of God’s Kingdom will be revealed and all people will see it together
We wait expectantly attentive to all the signs of Christ’s coming.
Into our world of darkness, into our places of strife
Into our troubles and weaknesses, Come, Lord
Come down, come in, come among us and awaken us to your presence
Come to lead the captives from their prisons, and the oppressed into freedom
Come to bring peace in the midst of war, Come Lord
Come down, come in, come among us and awaken us to your presence
Come to provide abundance in the midst of hunger, and life in the barren desert
Come to offer comfort in the presence of mourning, Come Lord
Come down, come in, come among us and awaken us to your presence
Come to those who are in need, and to those who are sick,
Come to those who are in despair, Come, Lord
Come down, come in, come among us and awaken us to your presence
Into our joys and celebrations, into our homes and loved ones
Into our work and our achievements, Come, Lord
Come down, come in, come among us and awaken us to your presence

Read daily scriptures from Revised Common Lectionary

After each scripture say together:
We wait in anticipation and hope for your coming O Christ

Light a candle as a reminder of those you pray for who need to see the presence of Christ more fully realized in their lives:
Lord may we be attentive to all the signs of your coming
May we bring glimpses of peace in a world at war
And the offer of freedom for those who are oppressed.
May we see generous giving in the midst of hunger
And plant splashes of green in a sea of pollution.
May we be bringers of healing to those who are sick
And offer hope to those who are in despair.

O Christ we long for your coming. Hasten that day when those who seek you in every nation will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south and sit at table in Your Kingdom. Hasten the day when your Kingdom will come in all its glory and suffering and pain and sickness and oppression and death will be overcome forever. Hasten the day when we will be resurrected as a great multicultural family and live in peace, harmony, joy and love together in your kingdom.

Calm us to wait for the gift of Christ;
Cleanse us to prepare the way for Christ;
Teach us to contemplate the wonder of Christ;
Touch us to know the presence of Christ;
Anoint us to bear the life of Christ
AMEN

(Wittten by Christine Sine, Godspace Blog)

ambassadors of HOPE...

This first week of Advent has me reflecting a lot on HOPE. Saturday was World AIDS Day, so I was remembering and praying for the people I met in South Africa impacted by the disease. On Saturday morning my friend Jon shared at a men’s breakfast about the sex trade and the work of International Justice Mission in India and around the world. My spirit is heavy as the reality of suffering, injustice, and poverty confronted me with faces and stories of HIV/AIDS and young girls forced into the sex trade. It brought to mind the lack of hope for so many around the world.

Hope is defined as, “A wish or desire accompanied by confident expectation of its fulfillment.” The cycles of poverty, injustice, and suffering are often hopeless to escape. I remember conversations and tears of hopelessness as new friends in places like Rio, Freetown, and Cape Town have shared their stories and desperation for a better life. There is not much “confident expectation” that their wishes and desires will ever be fulfilled. Yes, we can point people to the Second Advent and Christ’s return when He will dwell among us and there will be “no more death or mourning or crying or pain” (Revelation 21:1-4). But what about NOW! What about Jesus, the Good Shepherd’s, words in John 10:10, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

One of my favorite quotes this year is from Mortimer Arias in Announcing the Reign of God, “How, then, can we announce the kingdom of God as hope? By hoping. By living and sharing hope. By working with hope. By dying with hope! To be an evangelist is to be a sign of hope, a servant of hope, a minister of hope.”

The theme of reconciliation keeps rising to the surface as I think about hope and Advent. God teaches us in 2 Corinthians 2:19-20 that we are “ministers and ambassadors of reconciliation.” A group of 47 Christian leaders from around the world point the Church and Christians to be a people of reconciliation and hope in their 2005 paper, “Reconciliation as the Mission of God” (http://www.reconciliationnetwork.com)....

“Above all, Christians must be people of hope; hope in God’s victory in Christ and that, over time, reconciliation can break in, because this is God’s mission…This costly journey requires hope, nurtured in practices where we listen to God in worship, Scripture reading, and prayer. As we open to the pain of a broken world, we hear God’s word that ultimately, in the eschaton, all things will be reconciled in Christ. In the meantime, we do our part. It is in this hope that keeps the process moving forward…The church itself ought to be a key indication of hope, a living alternative, infusing and challenging the social sphere with a more radical vision of God’s reconciliation.”

This first week of Advent I am reminded of ultimate HOPE found only Jesus. But I am also reminded that I am called to be a minister and ambassador of that hope, pointing broken people to reconciliation made possible through Jesus! Followers of Jesus are called to be the visible signs of Advent….Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love! And, our actions need to speak as loud as our words!

waiting & hope

I have found Psalm 130 and Isaiah 25 encouraging Scriptures to meditate on and rest in this first week of Advent. I have also posted some favorite Advent links on the left sidebar.

“I wait for the LORD, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope. I wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning. Israel, put your hope in the LORD, for with the LORD is unfailing love and with him is full redemption.” ~Psalm 130:5-7

“For you have been a refuge to the poor, a refuge to the needy in their distress, a shelter from the rainstorm and a shade from the heat…It will be said on that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, so that he might save us. This is the Lord for whom we have waited; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.” ~Isaiah 25:4, 9

First Sunday of Advent - HOPE

Here is a candle lighting liturgy I pulled together from various sources last year for the first Sunday of Advent.

First Sunday of Advent – Hope

Scriptures: Jeremiah 33:14-16; Luke 1:67-79

"The first candle of advent draws attention to the hope and anticipation of the coming of a Messiah that weaves its way like a golden thread through Old Testament history. As God’s people were abused by power hungry kings, led astray by self-centered prophets, and lulled into apathy by half-hearted religious leaders, there arose a longing among some for God to raise up a new king who could show them how to be God’s people. They yearned for a return of God’s dynamic presence in their midst.

And so, God revealed to some of the prophets that indeed He would not leave His people without a true Shepherd. While they expected a new earthly king, their expectations fell far short of God’s revelation of Himself in Christ. And yet, the world is not yet fully redeemed. So, we again with expectation, with hope, await God’s new work in history, the Second Advent, in which He will again reveal Himself to the world. And we understand in a profound sense that the best, the highest of our expectations will fall far short of what our Lord’s Second Advent will reveal!”
[Taken from: The Season of Advent: Anticipation and Hope by Dennis Bratcher]

Waiting
As Sarah waited…
Ninety years for a son to fulfill God’s promise
We wait in hope for what we thought had been promised to us
As Moses waited…
40 years in the desert being prepared by God to lead his people
We wait for emptiness and humility; for bravado to wither
As Israel waited…
40 years in the desert, hungry, depressed, thirsting, unsure
We wait for things to move on and generations to pass
As the prophets waited…
1000 years of promises that God would raise up a Savior
We wait for things to change
As Mary waited…
9 months of her 14 years for the child of God
We feel the birth pangs yet fear for the child
As John the Baptist waited…
Scanning the crowds for the one whose sandals he would not be worthy to untie
We long for an experience of the Divine
As Jesus waited…
30 years of creeping time
40 days in the desert of temptation
3 years in the midst of misunderstanding
3 days in the depth of hell
So we wait for God’s time
Preparing the way
Our turn to toil on leveling mountains and straightening paths
Our turn to watch the time horizon
Our turn to pass on the hope
the one who promised is faithful
and will come back
[Taken from: Alternative Worship (Baker, Gay, & Brown, 2003)]

Lighting the Candle:
We light the first candle to remind us that Jesus is our hope. Romans 8:24-25 reminds us, “In this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.”

World AIDS Day - Saturday, December 1

“This year, the global theme of World AIDS Day is leadership within the slogan ‘Stop AIDS. Keep the Promise.’ World AIDS Day is a day when people from around the world come together within a single effort to raise awareness about HIV and to express global solidarity with people living with HIV. But World AIDS Day is not just about raising awareness. It also provides a global opportunity to urge governments and leaders for all promises on AIDS to be kept as well as an opportunity to demonstrate commitment and action on AIDS.”

As I read the headlines of Worlds AIDS Day I am quickly reminded of my experiences in South Africa these recent years. God first brought the reality of the crisis in Africa to my attention back in 2000 when we visited a cemetery of hundreds of fresh graves for adults and children who had died from the disease. This was the beginning of God’s stirring and burdening my heart for the people of South Africa and the AIDS crisis there. Today I went back and read a blog post from my time in South Africa in 2006. It gave powerful and lasting faces to the AIDS crisis. If you want to read the post click here: http://wheresdavebayne.blogspot.com/2006/03/masibambisane.html

I also have posted some HIV/AIDS web sites on the left side bar of this blog that provide more awareness and education.

making space for advent

Advent begins this Sunday, December 2. For the past few years both Advent and Lent have become meaningful seasons in my yearly rhythm of life. Observing the church calendar was not part of my church tradition, so a lot of this is new to me. I enjoy taking time out to listen to Scripture and reflect on the four main themes of Advent: Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love. Last year I even purchased an Advent wreath.

I have been unable to find one universal order for the four themes of Advent. The theme of hope usually starts off the season on the first week and joy is typically the theme of the pink candle on the third Sunday (Rose Rejoicing Sunday). However, love and peace seem to be used interchangeably on the second and fourth Sundays.

I hope to regularly blog on the themes of Advent this Christmas. I would love to hear any resources or traditions that are a part of your own season of Advent. The following summary of Advent is taken from an online article, The Season of Advent: Anticipation and Hope by Dennis Bratcher. The entire article can be found on the web site: www.crivoice.org/cyadvent.html.

“The word Advent means "coming" or "arrival." The focus of the entire season is the celebration of the birth of Jesus the Christ in his First Advent, and the anticipation of the return of Christ the King in his Second Advent. Thus, Advent is far more than simply marking a 2,000 year old event in history. It is celebrating a truth about God, the revelation of God in Christ whereby all of creation might be reconciled to God. That is a process in which we now participate, and the consummation of which we anticipate. Scripture reading for Advent will reflect this emphasis on the Second Advent, including themes of accountability for faithfulness at His coming, judgment on sin, and the hope of eternal life.

In this double focus on past and future, Advent also symbolizes the spiritual journey of individuals and a congregation, as they affirm that Christ has come, that He is present in the world today, and that He will come again in power. That acknowledgment provides a basis for Kingdom ethics, for holy living arising from a profound sense that we live "between the times" and are called to be faithful stewards of what is entrusted to us as God’s people. So, as the church celebrates God’s inbreaking into history in the Incarnation, and anticipates a future consummation to that history for which "all creation is groaning awaiting its redemption," it also confesses its own responsibility as a people commissioned to "love the Lord your God with all your heart" and to "love your neighbor as yourself."

This web site also includes daily scripture readings from the Book of Common Prayer. The readings include Old Testament passages from the Psalms and prophets, a passage from one of the Gospels, and a passage from a New Testament epistle. (Daily Scripture Readings for Advent: http://www.crivoice.org/daily.html)

As we enter into this Christmas season of Advent, I pray it is marked by a spirit of expectation, of anticipation, of preparation, of longing, and of HOPE in Jesus and His Kingdom!

two years of blogging....

Two years ago I entered this new world of blogging. Two years, ten countries, and 203 blog posts later…..the road continues ever on and on! In many ways, my blog parallels and represents this two year journey of sabbatical, discernment, and preparation. Thanks for sharing in the journey and all that comes with it!

The Lord of the Rings begins with Bilbo Baggins leaving home for an unknown destination. Two years ago, I began blog post #1 sharing how I felt like Bilbo not knowing what was ahead, but eager for the road ahead.

The road goes ever on and on, down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the road has gone, and I must follow it if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet, until it joins the larger way
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say?
~ Bilbo Baggins in the Fellowship of the Ring

It didn’t take long for God to bring to my attention Isaiah 52:12, “But you will not leave in haste or go in flight; for the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard.” Here God promised to go before the Israelites and be their rear guard as they followed Him. How true these promises of God's faithfulness held true in my journey on the road! These promises also bring comfort to me as I prepare to leave for Argentina very soon.

I can testify that God truly has gone before me and "marked the road for the coming day."

And the road continues ever on and on….

step back and take a long view

The below prayer was recited at my Word Made Flesh commissioning service earlier this month. The words of the prayer have been attributed to Archbishop Oscar Romero, who served the people of El Salvador and was assassinated in 1980 while he was saying mass in San Salvador. Regardless of who wrote the prayer, I think the words are a beautiful reminder of our role in the Kingdom of God!

The Prayer of Oscar Romero*
It helps, now and then, to step back and take a long view.

The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts,
it is even beyond our vision.

We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction
of the magnificent enterprise that is God's work.
Nothing we do is complete, which is a way of saying
that the kingdom always lies beyond us.
No statement says all that could be said.
No prayer fully expresses our faith.
No confession brings perfection.
No pastoral visit brings wholeness.
No program accomplishes the church's mission.
No set of goals and objectives includes everything.

This is what we are about.
We plant the seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted, knowing
that they hold future promise.

We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces far beyond our capabilities.

We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation
in realizing that.
This enables us to do something, and to do it very well.
It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way,
an opportunity for the Lord's grace to enter and do the rest.
We may never see the end results, but that is the difference
between the master builder and the worker.

We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future not our own. Amen.

* The mystery is that the words of the prayer are attributed to Oscar Romero, but they were never spoken by him. They were, in fact, spoken by John Cardinal Dearden in November of 1979. They come from a homily he gave at a Mass for deceased priests. But what is even more important to know is that they were words drafted for Cardinal Dearden by Ken Untener. (National Catholic Reporter, March 28, 2004)

gestures of gratitude this thanksgiving

Thanksgiving week is a time to recognize and express our love and gratitude to God and those we love! This time of year I usually pull out the book Space for God by Don Postema. There are a couple chapters on gratitude that are appropriate for the Thanksgiving season, as well as the entire year! I have shared these quotes before, but I think they are worth repeating...

“God is the giver. We are the thanks-givers…As gestures of gratitude unite us on a human level, they also unite us with the divine Giver. God offers gracious gifts, covenantal blessings, summarized in ‘You Belong.’ In response we say, ‘Thanks! I am grateful!’ We embrace God’s acceptance of us and in turn are embraced…Our social gestures of thanks, like a handshake or a letter, correspond to our religious gestures, like sacrifice, worship, obedience. Religious gestures are our way of saying to God, ‘Thank you for all the good things that come from you, the Source of all life.’”

“Gratitude as recognition, receptivity, and response is a basic attitude and action of the Christian life. We not only recognize and are aware of God’s gifts to us, but we also continually find ways of saying thanks to God in worship, prayer, and ‘whatever we say or do.’ Our aim is to live our whole life as a sacred gesture of thanksgiving, a deep bow of gratitude, solidifying our relationship with God.”

Some great Scriptures on gratitude and thanksgiving include: Psalm 75:1; Psalm 95:1-7; Psalm 100; Psalm 136; Colossians 2:6-7; Colossians 3:12, 16-17; Colossians 4:2; 1 Thessalonians 5:17-18; Philippians 4:6-7.

commissioning & prayer requests

I have already been back from Omaha almost a week. It was a fun week of special times and memories with family and dear friends. Word Made Flesh officially welcomed me to share life and ministry in Argentina for three years! The weekend included a meaningful commissioning service for several of us joining the WMF family. It was extra special to have my parents, sister, and Christian & Sonya Gray attend the service.

I have now posted my first prayer letters on the Word Made Flesh web site. You can check them out at: http://wordmadeflesh.com/support/pray-prayerletters.php?staff=124. If you want to be added to my snail mailing list, just let me know.

Here are some prayer requests I included in my December prayer letter:
· First and foremost, please pray that in all things I remain rooted in abiding relationship and intimacy with Jesus!
· Please pray for my remaining financial support needs and God’s best timing for my departure to Buenos Aires.
· Please pray for all the preparations before I leave. I have books to read, paperwork to complete, logistics to handle, and stuff to pack, while soaking in sweet times with family and friends before I leave.
· Please pray for me as I settle into life and ministry in Argentina. I will be living with an Argentine roommate or host family during my first few months there. I will then look for a place of my own in the La Boca neighborhood where WMF staff, Walter and Adriana Forcatto, already live.
· Please pray that I will adjust and learn Argentine culture and Spanish quickly.
· Please pray for leadership wisdom and guidance, as I help direct and facilitate the WMF community in Argentina through a process of spiritual formation and covenant to one another.
· Please pray for our new community in Argentina. Jeremiah and Jennifer Dean, along with children Jordan and Selah will arrive around the same time as me. We will join the Forcatto family who has already been there three years.
· Please pray for opportunities for relationships with the youth on the streets and people in the neighborhoods. Pray that I may radiate and represent Jesus in the way I love and live. Pray that I will evangelize and proclaim His Kingdom as hope to those in desperate need of Him.

At my commissioning with Donja (my sister), parents, and Christian & Sonya Gray.

Commissioning prayer time.

The WMF Board & Staff attending the weekend.

One final picture with the WMF Board. I will miss serving alongside these friends twice a year in Omaha.

it all comes down to this....

I'm here in Omaha, Nebraska for a couple weeks. It all comes down to this....This weekend is my interview and commissioning with Word Made Flesh. One step closer to Argentina for a few years. Looking forward to some extra time with O-Town friends. My parents and sister will also be here this weekend for the commissioning. It will be great to have them here to share in this step! I may be MIA in bloggerland for a couple weeks until I am home in Cali. Until then.....

a sabbath prayer

I continue to enjoy my rhythm of Sabbath this fall. I am loving my mornings of solitude, reading, & prayer, afternoons with friends and outside, and evening worship with my church community! However, recently, I have been more mindful and aware of those who can not afford the time or space to enjoy the day of rest that God gives us to enjoy (much less time for solitude, silence, and contemplation). Those who do not earn a living wage and must work long hours 7-days a week…those who are oppressed and persecuted… those who are exhausted and worn out from living and sleeping on the streets…those who are hungry and starving….and those who suffer pain, abuse, or disease.

Just two Sundays ago, I was enjoying my Mother Teresa book on the beautiful bluffs of Long Beach overlooking the ocean when a couple awoke from a rough night of sleep under a tree. Their day began with the stress of life and survival and a big argument. Their reality was a good interruption to my savoring the moment. It is something I need to continue to wrestle with, as I find my own rhythm of life and Sabbath.

Christine Sine, in her book Godspace (formally titled Sacred Rhythms), shares her similar struggle. She shares her Sabbath prayer which reminds her of God’s promises for Sabbath rest both now and eternal.

As we close this Sabbath day, O God, we come longing for your future to be revealed.
In a world polluted and destroyed, we remember you promise renewal for all creation,
Your Sabbath rest is all inclusive.
In a world where many are heavy laden, you promise to take our yoke upon you,
Your Sabbath rest shares our burdens.
In a world where many are imprisoned and persecuted, you promise to set the captives free,
Your Sabbath rest frees from oppression.
In a world where many are starving, you promise to feed the hungry,
Your Sabbath rest provides abundance for all.
In a world where many are diseased and disabled you promise to heal the sick,
Your Sabbath rest brings us wholeness.
We live in anticipation of that day when Christ returns, and a Sabbath rest comes for all peoples,
Not alone but as part of a great international community that is your body.
Maranatha, come, Lord Jesus, come into our hearts and our lives,
And grant us your eternal Sabbath rest.

May our Sabbath day and worship always leave space and make effort to include and invite those who are “weary and heavy laden.” May we point to God’s promises and seek to be instruments of those promises of His rest today! While we also look forward to the day when Jesus returns to fully liberate and usher in eternal Sabbath rest!

my college football season still has a heartbeat!

Yesterday my dad and I went to the Rose Bowl to see the UCLA-Cal game! After a fun UCLA upset, I am relieved that my last college football season in the U.S. for awhile still has a heartbeat (for at least another week anyway)!

rhythm of life

Wow, most of my recent posts & reflections have been all about spiritual life & formation. I guess that is where my head and heart is these days! I'll try and mix it up soon. But, in the meantime....

I was just going through some books beginning to prepare some material on developing a rhythm or rule of life. "A rule of life is a pattern of spiritual disciplines that provides structure and direction for growth in holiness...It is meant to help establish a rhythm of daily living, a basic order within which new freedoms can grow. A rule of life, like a trellis, curbs our tendency to wander and supports our frail effort to grow spiritually....A rule of life allows us to cultivate and deepen this growing likeness [to Christ]. It fosters gifts of the Spirit in personal life and human community, helping to form us into the persons God intends us to be."

If this above quote from Marjorie Thompson sparks your interest, check out her book, Soul Feast: An Invitation to the Spiritual Life. It discusses prayer, worship, fasting, self-examination, and hospitality and gives helpful instruction on how to develop and nurture these practices in our daily life. Another similar book is God Space: Time for Peace in the Rhythms of Life (previous title Sacred Rhythms) by Christine Sine.

sacred space (for advent)

I know, I know....it is too early to start talking Christmas and Advent!!! I will make this quick! I was just made aware of a prayer book for Advent called: Sacred Space for Advent and the Christmas Season (2007-2008). The book includes scripture readings, reflection questions, and prayer starters for each day of Advent and the Christmas season. I have really enjoyed the Sacred Space annual prayer books published each year, so I'm sure this Advent one is just as great! You can check it out at Ave Maria Press here:

http://forestofpeace.com/itemdetail.cfm?nItemid=862

You can check out some sample pages on that site. It is also on Amazon.

Anyway, enough Christmas for now! I just wanted to pass it on, in case you were interested and needed time for ordering and shipping (overseas friends!). I do plan to blog more on Advent again this year....but not until mid-November! :)

silencio and incarnatio

The spiritual practice of Lectio Divina has been a valuable and significant part of my journey and formation these past several years. Lectio Divina is Latin for “sacred reading” and represents an early monastic technique of scripture reading and prayer. It is a way of praying with Scripture that calls one to study, ponder, listen and, finally, pray from God's Word. The traditional steps of this “ladder” of lectio were first articulated by Guigo II in the 1100’s and include four steps: lectio (reading), meditatio (meditation), oratio (prayer), and contemplatio (contemplation). It is a way of listening to the text of the scriptures as if we were in conversation with Christ and he were suggesting the topics of conversation.

Robert Mulholland in his book, Invitation to a Journey, includes spiritual reading and Lectio Divina in his list of classical spiritual disciplines. “Lectio is a posture of approach and a means of encounter with a text that enables the text to become a place of transforming encounter with God. In addition to the four classic steps of Lectio Divina (lectio, meditatio, oratio, contemplatio), Mulholland adds two steps, one at either end…..silencio at the beginning and incarnatio at the end.

These additional steps have been helpful to me, so I will share Mulholland’s explanation here…..

“Silencio is our preparation for spiritual reading. Shaped as we are by an informational culture, trained to approach the text as the ones who are in control of the text, we need to take time, at the beginning of the process of spiritual reading, to engage in a deeper internal shift in the posture of our being….John Wesley suggests we come to the text ‘with a single eye to know the whole will of God, and a fixed resolution to do it.’ The second half of Wesley’s guideline introduces the shift required in the deep inner posture of our being. It is a shift of the control of the process from ourselves to God. It is a deep commitment of our being to God’s purposes, even before we know what those purposes may be.”

“…we must add a concluding step, incarnatio. The whole focus of spiritual reading is to encounter God in ways that enable God to transform our being and doing in the world. This step brings us full circle to what we do in silencio. There we placed ourselves before the text to seek the whole will of God with a ‘fixed resolution to do it.’ Incarnatio is the fulfillment of that resolution.”

argentina here i come....

As I prepare to serve with Word Made Flesh in Buenos Aires, Argentina by February 1...I thought I would share some details about the ministry there, along with some pictures of the friends I will be sharing life and ministry with!

Adriana, Walter, Cora and Amani Forcatto

With the Forcattos (I better start looking for an Argentina futbol jersey soon!)

Jennifer, Jeremiah, and Jordan Dean (baby girl Dean due any day!)
The Deans will move to Buenos Aires about the same time as me and lead four-month Servant Teams.

The soon-to-be Argentina fellas!

Argentina
For the last 35 years Argentina has experienced a general crisis that has affected almost every area of society. The military coup d' etat in 1976, the return of a weak democracy in the early 80's and 10 years of a crude neo-liberal political model beginning in 1990 thrust nearly 50% of Argentina's population into poverty. All this culminated in the economic and social crisis of 2001 that not only resulted in a breakdown in the political, social and economic spheres but also cost the lives of dozens of people.

Like many other Latin American countries, Argentina is attempting to reverse this situation by leaving behind harmful and unjust political and econonmic models. For this to occur the country needs to foster and develop greater equality in the distribution of its resources and newly found economic growth.

WMF Argentina Vision Statement
WMF Argentina exists and is called to serve and discover Jesus among the abandoned and vulnerable youth on the streets of Buenos Aires. Through relationships based on mutual love, trust and dignity, the community seeks to love, rescue and liberate these excluded youth, as well as be loved and liberated by them. WMF Argentina envisions nurturing a movement of believers in Buenos Aires to discover and follow Jesus as they serve among youth on the streets. We also seek to create a welcoming community where hospitality is central, creating a space for healing, rest and reflection for WMF staff serving in South America.

Relationship Building
Walter and Adriana Forcatto are currently the only WMF staff living in Argentina [I add, but not for long!] and serve among kids and youth living on the streets of Buenos Aires. Because WMF has only been a presence in Buenos Aires since March 2005, the ministry of solidarity and accompaniment continues to deepen and mature. Several days a week they meet with the youth in the subway stations, parks and abandoned train tracks, bringing food, activities and games, and the love of Jesus. They also make themselves available to serve within the local church to be a voice for the children and the poor.

growing into vocation

As begin to recall and reflect back on these past couple of years, I am beginning to see how God continues to reshape my understanding of vocation and call. My tendency in the beginning of this season of discernment was to seek God with doing questions of who, what, where, and how (Where will I serve? With who? What will be my focus?). Gradually, with the direction of reading, mentoring, and some experience with the Ignation spiritual practices (Examen, consolation, and desolation) those discernment questions began to grow into being questions like,
What is God calling me to in relationship with him?...
And what experiences are drawing me closer to God and life in the Spirit?...
As well as, what experiences are drawing me away from God and life in the Spirit?

David Brenner captures “vocation” well in his book, The Gift of Being Yourself, “Too often we think of God’s call (or our vocation) solely in terms of what we do….However, while doing will always be involved, vocation is much more than our occupation. It is the face of Christ we are called from eternity to show the world. It is who we are called to be.”

Parker Palmer also has impacted my understanding of vocation Let Your Life Speak, “Vocation does not come from willfulness. It comes from listening. I must listen to my life and try to understand what it is truly about – quite apart from what I would like it to be about – or my life will never represent anything real in the world, no matter how earnest my intentions. That insight is hidden in the word vocation itself, which is rooted in the Latin ‘voice.’ Vocation does not mean a goal that I pursue. It means a calling that I hear. Before I can tell my life what I want to do with it, I must listen to my life telling me who I am.”

My primary vocation is follower of Jesus Christ conforming into his image. Simple at its core, but a lifelong process of listening and formation! I now look forward to following Jesus to Argentina and continuing the process of formation among the community there.

a new rhythm of sabbath...

This past year I have tried with spoty success to be more intentional about making space for weekly Sabbath! Pastor and author, Eugene Peterson, once wrote an article titled "Confessions of a Former Sabbath Breaker." Needless to say, I relate! God gave us Sabbath rest for a reason with our best interest in mind. Why is it so easy to neglect obedience to rest?! Anyway, today was the "launch" for a new rhythm and discipline of Sabbath these months ahead before leaving for Argentina early next year.

My church started a new Sunday evening worship service, Grace at Night. So, I am looking forward to attending this evening service and beginning my Sabbath with morning solitude and space for God. Today I kicked things off by going to one of my favorite local places, an outdoor cafe overlooking the Pacific Ocean at the Long Beach Art Museum. I also started reading Mother Teresa's private writings in the new book, Come Be My Light, which has spurred a lot of conversation and debate. After a great morning with God, coffee, and reading....I enjoyed an afternoon phone conversation with a good friend and took it slow. This Sabbath day closed with some meaningful worship and reflection on "Jesus, Light of the World" at Grace at Night!

This new Sabbath rhythm got off to a great start! It was a good day!

Come Be My Light begins with Mother Teresa’s mother’s parting words to her daughter as she left home for India, “Put your hand in His hand, and walk alone with Him. Walk ahead, because if you look back you will go back.” I appreciated reading more on Mother Teresa’s early years of formation and growing into her vocation. Her vocation was the “fruit of her profound relationship with Jesus.” I paid special close attention to the formation process that Mother Teresa went through those early years in the order....Mother Teresa truly walked ahead in spiritual formation and growing into her vocation!

seasons

I know it is a big stretch to say that I experience seasons in Southern California. Here fall means Santa Ana winds and brush fires, while winter means a couple of rain storms if we’re lucky, usually accompanied with mudslides. Spring and summer bring warm and hot temps with some June gloom in between. However, even with my lack of experiencing real seasons, I do feel that my seasonal cycle is a bit out of whack these past two years. Jumping back and forth from Northern to Southern hemispheres (Brasil, Argentina, South Africa) will do that to you, I guess.

All this got me reflecting about seasons and life. Parker Palmer writes a great chapter on the metaphor of seasons in his book, Let Your Life Speak. Palmer prefers the metaphor of seasons of growth, decline, and new life and of comfort and challenge in the cycle of seasons. He shares, “Seasons is a wise metaphor for the movement of life, I think. It suggests that life is neither a battlefield nor a game of chance but something infinitely richer, more promising, more real. The notion that our lives are like the eternal cycle of the seasons does not deny the struggle or joy, the loss of the gain, the darkness or the light, but encourages us to embrace it all -- and to find in all of it opportunities of growth.”

On Autumn, Palmer reflects…. “Autumn is a season of great beauty, but it is also a season of decline: the days grow shorter, the light is suffused, and summer’s abundance decays toward winters’s death. Faced with this inevitable winter, what does nature do in autumn? It scatters the seeds that will bring new growth in the spring – and scatters them with amazing abandon….as I explore autumn’s paradox of dying and seeding, I feel the power of metaphor. In the autumnal events of my own experience, I am easily fixated on surface appearances – on decline of meaning, the decay of relationships, the death of work. And yet if I look more deeply, I may see the myriad possibilities being planted to bear fruit in some season to come.”

Now, since it is spring in Argentina (see Adriana Forcatto’s latest blog post: www.adrianainargentina.blogspot.com)....I’ll share some of Palmer’s reflections on spring for my Southern Hemisphere friends in Argentina, Brasil, and South Africa!

“Though spring begins slowly and tentatively, it grows with a tenacity that never fails to touch me. The smallest and most tender shoots insist on having their way, coming up through ground that looked, only a few weeks earlier, as if it would never grow anything again. The crocuses and snowdrops do not bloom for long. But their mere appearance, however brief, is always a harbinger of hope, and from those small beginnings, hope grows at a geometric rate. The days get longer, the winds get warmer, and the world grows green again. In my own life, as my winters segue into spring, I not only find it hard to cope with mud but hard to credit the small harbingers of larger life to come, hard to hope until the outcome is secure. Spring teaches me to look more carefully for the green stems of possibility: for the intuitive hunch that may turn into a larger insight, for the glance or touch that may thaw a frozen relationship, for the stranger’s act of kindness that makes the world seem hospitable again.

“From autumn’s profligate seedings to the great spring giveaway, nature teaches a steady lesson: if we want to save our lives, we cannot cling to them but must spend them with abandon.”

home

I returned home this week after a great time in Romania and Canada! It was good to be with the WMF community in Galati, Romania. I then flew directly to Toronto to spend some time with my sister, bro-in-law, nieces, and nephew! It was a sweet time full of special memories! Now I am home plowing through my long to do list this month ahead, which includes downsizing and selling stuff in storage, selling more on ebay, lots and lots of reading, studying Spanish, preparing for Argentina.....and enjoying fall activities while I am home like college football, oktoberfest, pumpkin spice lattes, and some first-run television episodes (including The Office tonight!).

some symbols that keep me centered...

Pitcher/Cup...Saucer/Plate

The Pitcher represents God, all He is and all He desires to pour into our life...The Cup represents our life...The Saucer represents our relationships and community...The Plate represents ministry programs and events. The plate sits on the bottom, the saucer in the middle, and the cup is on top.

In this symbol, priority is given to the pitcher-cup relationship between us and God. In John 15:4ff, Jesus teaches his followers to “remain” or “abide” in Him. The Christian life is about first abiding under a steady outpouring of intimacy and relationship with God, so He can then overflow into the saucer of our relationships and plate of ministry. Community and ministry with others must overflow out of the spillage of God’s love and grace experienced in our own lives.

Vine & Branches

"Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing." ~John 15:4-5

I took this picture of the many grapes ready to be harvested in Romania this month.

San Damiano Cross and Bread & Cup

WMF Prayer Rug

The Word Made Flesh community in Romania is making this prayer rug in their chapel. The bags up on top are filled with fabrics from each WMF community around the world.

Candles representing prayers of lament for people living and suffering in poverty around the world.

autumn in toronto...

Just sharing a few pictures from my first few days in Toronto with my sister and her family...

Apple picking with my nieces & nephew

Ashlyn, Aidan, and Alyssa

Downtown Toronto with Donja

grace at night

My church in Seal Beach is kicking off a new Sunday evening service on September 23. I am looking forward to being a part of this worship gathering through the rest of the year before leaving for Argentina! For you fellow Grace'ers here is a blog with more details and updates....http://graceatnight.wordpress.com/

here in toronto

I arrived in Toronto on Monday night after a great week in Galati, Romania with the WMF community there. It was so good to spend time with friends and learn from the many ways God is growing and shaping their community, as they serve and share life together. The week went by way to fast! But, it was super nice to get off the plane in Toronto and be welcomed with sweet hugs from my nieces and nephew! Looking forward to a fun time here with my sister and her family!

on the road again....

Hard to believe summer is over and September is here. August was a good and fruitful month...completed my WMF staff application, completed my spiritual direction work for The Journey, finished reading a few books (Submerge, Irresistible Revolution, Announcing the Reign of God), started a process of Ignition Spiritual Exercises, finished clearing out my uncle's storage unit, made some money on ebay, and shared some good times with family and friends throughout the month.

Tomorrow (September 1) I leave for a week in Romania. Looking forward to the time with the WMF community there. Lots to learn and glean from them in how they share life together! From Romania it is straight to Toronto to visit my sister, bro-in-law, nieces, and nephew! I'll return back home on September 24 to start the next phase of life at home, as I prepare for Argentina by February 1.

I'll try and blog from Romania when I can. Otherwise, watch for the highlight reel from Toronto.

I'll close with The Message paraphrase of familiar Psalm 23. These couple verses have encouraged me recently, as I consider God's extravagant goodness....

“True to your word, you let me catch my breath and send me in the right direction…Your beauty and love chase after me every day of my life. I’m back home in the house of God for the rest of my life" ~Psalm 23:3, 6

evangelist of hope...

I just finished the book Announcing the Reign of God by Mortimer Arias. The book was a refreshing look at evangelism and what it means to proclaim the kingdom of God. I have been reflecting a lot on hope these past couple of years. In places of suffering and poverty hope in Jesus and the kingdom of God is the good news we can proclaim! While the book was full of some great stuff that challenged my thinking and paradigms, the stuff on HOPE especially stood out. Here's just a taste....

“Indeed, Jesus lived by hope and died by hope. He taught hope, and he proclaimed hope. He celebrated hope, and he called his followers to become people of hope.”

"How, then, can we announce the kingdom of God as hope? By hoping. By living and sharing hope. By working with hope. By dying with hope! To be an evangelist is to be a sign of hope, a servant of hope, a minister of hope.”

This is my hope and prayer!

praise awaits you...

Just in case anyone is still out there checking out my blog after a summer of being MIA, here is finally something new!

I was resting in Psalm 8 this morning. The praise starts out, "Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!" I paused and meditated for awhile on verse 3...."When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers." I recognized that too often I neglect to "consider" God's majestic creation and His fingers at work all around me. Worship involves taking pause to consider and be attentive to who God is and His extravagant goodness all around us! I need to do more of that!

I then pulled out my ipod and listened to a new favorite song, "Praise Awaits You" by Enter the Worship Circle on the "Second Circle" CD....the lyrics are a great response to Psalm 8!

PRAISE AWAITS YOU (Ben Kennedy & Ben Pasley)

YOU HAVE CARVED ME FROM THE GROUND I WALK UPON
AND THE QUESTION FILLS A THOUSAND ACHING SONGS
BUT I KNOW NOW THAT YOU’RE THE ONLY ONE
WHO WILL ANSWER

PRAISE AWAITS YOU
LOVE AWAITS YOU
I AWAIT YOU...HERE

YOU HAVE BREATHED THE WIND THAT FILLS AND MOVES THE TREES
YOU HAVE POURED THE WATER OUT INTO THE STREAMS
YOUR HAVE FORMED THE MIGHTY MOUNTAINS BY YOUR STRENGTH
AND THEY ALL SAY

YOU HAVE STILLED THE ROARING ANGER OF THE SEAS
AND YOU WILL TURN THE NATIONS TURMOIL INTO PEACE
AND YOU WELCOME EVERY BROKEN ONE WHO PRAYS
AND YOU LOVE THEM

earthquake in peru

Please pray for the Word Made Flesh community in Lima, Peru. They are all okay. But, they ask for prayer for all those impacted by the earthquake. Many of their friends live in more impacted areas where structures and homes are not as stable. Monica in Lima has a blog and posted an update here.... www.mghali.blogspot.com.

july in nebraska...

Tomorrow I am off to Nebraska for a few weeks. After some time catching up with friends in Omaha, I'll head to Nebraska City for the Word Made Flesh retreat that takes place every three years. It will be fun to see friends coming in from all around the world! Besides enjoying worship and friendship at the retreat, I am facilitating a contemplative prayer room and helping with the children's retreat for all the little "fleshie" kiddos! Who knew I would ever be so excited about spending some summertime weeks in Nebraska? :)

Not sure if I will get much time to post a lot while I am away...so I may be a little blog MIA this month.

A few pictures of summer so far...

Broken-Beautiful Exhibit Opening

With Sierra Leone Discovery Team

(Cami, Elane, Christianna)

Hanging with Walter, Adriana, & Lynnie

Holding Sweet Amani Forcatto for the first time!

Pool fun with sweet Cora Forcatto

Squeezing in some fun and memories with the Biedebach family before they headed back to South Africa and on to Malawi...

With Dr. Brian at his graduation

Meeting Benjamin for the first time

Hanging out with Bradley David

With lovable Ami

With Brian, Anita, & Lynnie