Advent- Christmas Lights

 During Advent I want to take four non-sacred aspects of Christmastime and look at how we can use them to point ourselves and our families to Christ.  We will look at Christmas lights, Christmas trees, Christmas food and Christmas presents.  Hopefully, these four things will train your eyes to remember Jesus well.

"Kids, let's go drive around and look at the lights."
"Yes!"

This is something we do quite regularly during Christmastime.  In fact, the radio station I work for encourages people to go out on Thursday nights to look at the lights while continuous Christmas music is played.  So, we pile in the car and explore different neighborhoods in our beloved hometown.  The kids love pointing out all the different lights they see.

Our favorite house is 103 Eliasen Avenue in Waverly.  The Wiechmann family, each year, synchs their many lights to music on a radio frequency to raise money for St. Jude's Children's Hospital.  Waverly Lights is a a fun tradition.

When our family is with my in-laws we go to see Rotary Lights.  Each Christmastime the LaCrosse Rotary Club collects donations for the food bank and roughly 160,000 visitors gaze at over 3,000,000 lights in amazing displays throughout the park.

Christmas lights are part of our tradition.  We have them in our house and on our house.  We love to look at them.  As night comes sooner and lasts longer we get more opportunities to look at electric lights.  Some say this tradition has pagan roots, like many Christmastime traditions.  Perhaps that's true, but what do Christmas lights tell us about Christmas?

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning.
Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made.  In Him was life, and that life was the light of men.  The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it." John 1:1-5 (emphasis mine).

"When Jesus spoke again to the people, He said, 'I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." John 8:12 (emphasis mine).

As we drive around looking at the lights, let us see the Light of the World.  Let us show our kids the beautiful lights in the dark night and let's point them to the Light that shines in the darkness.  Let us gaze at the beauty of coordinated electric light while pondering the Light of Life that shocked our dead self to eternal life.

Let's train our eyes and minds to take every sight and every thought of light captive this Advent.  Let's take the non-sacred Christmastime tradition of Christmas lights and use it to set our hearts and minds on the Holy One, the Light of the World today.

Fried Chicken Thanksgiving

 Last year on Thanksgiving we stayed home.  We had a single friend come to our house for the feast that Christine made.  It was Christine's first time making the traditional meal and she enjoyed it, and so did we.  Last year was not our traditional Thanksgiving, but it was good.

This year was supposed to be different.  We were back on the holiday schedule.  This year we were to be with Christine's parents for Thanksgiving and mine for Christmas.  We were going to leave Wednesday afternoon and stay until Saturday.  The kids were going to see their grandparents and aunt and uncle.  Aunt Becca and Uncle Mike were going to see Gideon for the first time.

Then Tuesday Joshua tested positive for COVID-19.  Our plans were wrecked.  It was even too late to get a turkey thawed for Thanksgiving.

So, here we are again.  Another COVID Thanksgiving, this time with fried chicken.

We're disappointed.  This isn't the holiday we expected or wanted, but there are lots of reasons to be thankful.  I asked Joshua Tuesday afternoon if we could still be thankful even without grandma and grandpa and turkey.  He said, "Yes!"

Here are Joshua's reasons to be thankful:
"I am thankful for: God, my house, pizza, books, myself, Daddy, Mommy, Anna, Gideon, my family, everyone, cookies, mashed potatoes (likely not true), walls, words and letters, and our clock.

Anna's reason to be thankful:
"I am thankful for: Gideon, the moon and mashed potatoes."

This isn't the Thanksgiving we planned but it's what we got.  We'd rather be with extended family now anticipating pies and turkey tomorrow.  We'd rather be playing board games and talking with family with drink in hand by the fireplace.  I'd rather not have another Thanksgiving like this, but I am aware at how much I am blessed.  My problems are silly compared to most people currently living on this planet and are ridiculous compared to most people who have ever lived on this earth.  I am blessed materially far beyond the wildest dreams of most kings in the grand scope of history.

Most importantly, I'm blessed spiritually infinitely beyond measure.  I was an enemy of God and now I am His child (Romans 5).  I was responsible for the sin for which Jesus suffered and died and yet He is not ashamed to call me His brother (Hebrews 2:11).  I am a joint heir with Jesus instead of kindling for Hell's fire.

I am so thankful.  I have to remind myself of that.  My memory is so short and I'm extremely near-sighted when life doesn't fit my plan.  I need Thanksgiving to help me remember my many reasons to be full of gratitude and not a bad attitude. 

Happy Thanksgiving!  Feast, remember and count your many blessings today.

Rejoice Not

 It was April, 2010 and we were just about to enter the McLeod Center in Cedar Falls for a concert featuring Casting Crowns.  I was escorting the high school students to the correct entrance when my fellow leader Becky said, "Amber has been in a really bad car accident and has been air lifted to Iowa City."

We decided to not mention it to the kids so they could enjoy the concert because they couldn't do anything and we didn't really know anything.

Meanwhile, I was in a bit of shock.  I couldn't focus on the concert.  The only song I remember hearing was "Praise You in This Storm", to which I replied in my head, "Shut up, Casting Crowns! Not now."

My thoughts were partially on Amber.  I thought of her and her family, but then I was comforted knowing that if she died, her eternity was secure.  She knew and loved Jesus, of that I was sure.  My mind went to the urgency of getting the unsaved and unsure kids in the youth group to know and love Him before they were the ones being air lifted.

That night one girl's name came into my mind and I can't tell you exactly why.  I believe God placed her name in my mind and I became burdened to see her proclaim Jesus as Savior and live for Him.  

(Amber did survive through miracle after miracle and now she's a wonderful woman, wife, foster mom, disciple and teacher)

So, I had this student on my mind.  Then, I don't remember how, we got it set up to meet weekly and study the Bible at the local coffee shop.  God had answered one of my prayers.

We met and met and met.  I watched her grow slowly yet surely.  I helped her navigate problems in her life and felt as though I was making the difference God impressed upon my heart to make.

Then one night after midnight I got a call.  This student was hysterical and inebriated.  So, I went to her house to find her and three others there without adult supervision.  Looooooooong story short... I took multiple sets of keys away, I took a knife away, I helped her sober up and stay safe.  It was a youth leader's unheralded late night duty fulfilled.

A few days later I told her we needed to meet to talk about what had transpired.  We did and she could not have cared less.  She refused to recognize her sin, her depraved actions, her dangerous behavior and her problem.  I felt as though I was beating my head against a brick wall.  She just kept saying, "I don't know why you think this is a big deal."  She, looking back, was simply a stubborn kid, but I was hurt because I wanted something more for her than she wanted for herself.

I called my pastor.  We met in his car outside the Spring Waverly Horse Sale.  I wept big, fat tears in his car as I described my godly burden for this student and my inability to help her.  I was frustrated to the max and I couldn't understand how I crumbled over this one soul and he was shepherding so many more.

Pastor Jim took me to a passage that saved my ministry life.

In the book of Luke, Jesus sent out 72 people to minister and they had massive success.  Jesus' response to them upon their return was odd and life saving for me.

"The seventy-two returned with joy and said, 'Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.'
He replied, 'I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.  I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.  However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in Heaven." Luke 10:17-20

Verse 20 saved my sanity.  I would not be involved in youth ministry still without it.  I would not be a foster parent without it.  I would not be a sane parent without it.  Pastor Jim dropped a gem in my lap that afternoon that has kept me keeping on.

See, our joy must never be rooted in success.  The young girl from this story is a woman of whom I am proud of today.  She didn't stay stubborn through this teenage crisis.  But that's not where I found joy.  I learned that to stay sane in ministry I had to keep my central joy my salvation.  I had to remember the wonderful, unexplainably wonderful, joy that comes from knowing my name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life.

Friends, in ministry and in all of life we will have success and we will have seemingly fruitless labor.  Rejoice not that you win or lose some battles.  Rejoice that your name is written in Heaven.  Jesus knew there would be days when the demons didn't flee.  He knew there would be days when the crowd would turn to Him in the thousands after Peter's first sermon and that Paul would be stoned by the crowd after one of his.  The outcomes of our work aren't where we root our joy.  Our salvation is.

Should we cheer when we get wins?  Absolutely.  Should our joy be anchored to success?  Absolutely not.  

Let your chief joy be your own salvation today.