Happy New Year!

To get 2010 off to a good start, here’s a very special Music Monday. This is a great song for lovers everywhere. When I first heard it, I hoped that I would one day find someone that this song fit perfectly – little did I know how soon it would happen. My hope for you is that you too will be lucky enough to fall in love with your best friend.

For the official music video for Lucky, one that always makes me smile, click here.

Back in May I began reading Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron. I bought this book because Dewey looks an awful lot like my little Simba.  I knew, from the moment I began reading the first chapter, that this book was destined to bring me great joy.

Although it too me way longer to read than it should have, no words can express the emotion that Dewey brought as I read through the book.  From giggling out loud to shedding tears, this book is a must-read for anyone who has a beloved pet.  The best way to sum up this book is to leave you with a few of my favorite quotes.

“How much of an impact can an animal have? How many lives can one cat touch?”

“What I couldn’t believe was how much Dewey loved us. How comfortable he seemed around strangers. His attitude seemed to be, how can anyone not love a cat? Or more ismply, how can anyone resist me? Dewey didn’t think of himself, I soon realized, as just another cat. He always thought of himself, correctly, as one of a kind.”

“Dewey didn’t put food on anyone’s table. He didn’t create jobs. He didn’t turn our economy aroud. But one of the worst things about bad times is the effect on your mind. Bad times drain you of energy. They occupy your thoughts. They taint everything in your life. Bad news is as poisonous as bad bread. At the very least, Dewey was a distraction.”

“His interest was people. If there was a patron in the library, he’d walk straight up to him and jump in his lap.  Rejection never deterred him. Dewey kept jumping, kept looking for laps to lie in and hands to pet him.”

“People say what’s the big deal, he was just a cat.  But that’s where they’re wrong.  Dewey was so much more.”

I promise this – Dewey was so much more, as are so many of the pets that we all know and love.  This book made me appreciate even more the companionship of my Simba, who, to me, is so much more than just a cat.

Christmas has always seemed magical to me and this year was no different. Maybe magical isn’t the right word. Growing up it seemed magical … I think I realized this year that what seemed magical was really holy.  Maybe, in a sense, holy and magical are very similar.

David & I went to First UMC of Blairsville for candlelight worship Christmas Eve and it was truly a holy experience.  As we sat in a sanctuary where we were practically strangers, it was incredible to celebrate the birth of baby Jesus with people who we knew nothing about.  I experienced community that night – with people who I will likely  never see again.  It’s worship experiences like this that make me love and appreciate the church.  Besides this rejuvenated appreciation for the church as the body of Christ, there were two big revelations for me this Christmas.

As we worshiped I became awestruck at the idea that God – all powerful and incredibly mighty – came to us as a baby.  I can’t really grasp the incredible significance that has.  Now that there are babies in the family, babies that we believe are truly miracles, I couldn’t stop thinking of Jesus as those tiny helpless babies.  God relied on Mary & Joseph to care for Jesus until he was old enough to care for himself.  Mary and Joseph and God were a team.  Mary & Joseph had to rely on God to get them through the uncertain times – they had to listen for God’s guidance all along the way.  And God trusted that they were listening and would follow.  God, in that moment, understood more than ever before, what we humans experience when we have to rely on the help of others.  If God can be so humble as to come as a baby, then I should be humble enough to know that I cannot do all things or be all things to all people.

As the pastor got up to tell the Christmas Message titled “No Room for Jesus” I began to think about how little room babies take up.  In today’s world, babies require a lot of space and things.  Space to play on, toys to play with, diapers, wipes, food, bottles, etc.  But I bet Mary didn’t have any of this stuff.  All she needed was a tiny place to give birth and keep warm.  And yet the only space they could find was in a dirty, smelly stable.  One of the best revelations that came from Christmas Eve worship this year was when the pastor said if Christ came today, as a baby, he wouldn’t be born in our homes, or in our churches, or even in a nearby hotel.  He’d be born in a dirty, smelly truck stop.  Or a homeless shelter.  That got me thinking – where else might Jesus be born if he came today?  In the streets of the projects or the slums?  On the streets of a downtown city?  In a brothel?  Or in one of the other 10,000 places that we’re too afraid to go because it’s dirty and smelly and “we’re worth more than that”?  Not only does God come to us in the form of a tiny helpless baby but this tiny helpless baby comes to us in the dirty smelly places of our world.

These two revelations left me pondering one simple question: “Will I make room for Jesus in my life?”  Sometimes we get so busy with stuff that we forget why we are doing what we are busy doing.  True confession – sometimes I get so caught up in doing the business of the church that I forget why I decided to go into “paid” ministry in the first place.  When that happens, I have crowded Jesus out.  And Jesus is much too precious a gift to be crowded out.

No, it’s not Monday … and yes – you’ve already gotten your Music feature for the week, but Christmas is a’coming!  As we wait (trying to be patient) for Fed Ex to deliver a very special package, we reflect on all the great Christmas music that’s out there.  This one may be my favorite Christmas song of the year. “Sonny Boy Christmas” is sung by Israel Houghton’s little boy and it’s absolutely precious. It makes me smile and giggle all at the same time. His prayer is my favorite. As he says – “Christmas is coming tomorrow!” Merry Christmas all!

Last Sunday in worship, we sang “People Look East” as our Sending Song. Something about the lyrics of verses 2 and 3 brought a revelation that I had never had before. The verses go something like this:

Furrows, be glad.
Though earth is bare, one more seed is planted there.
Give up your strength the seed to nourish, that in course the flower may flourish.
People, look east and sing today – Love, the rose, is on the way.

Stars, keep the watch.
When night is dim, one more light the bowl shall brim,
shining beyond the frosty weather, bright as sun and moon together.
People, look east and sing today – Love, the star, is on the way.

As we sang this song I thought about the season of winter.  It’s a dreary time – at least for most of us.  The weather is terrible in most places – it’s cold and cloudy and just plain gross.  Everything around us is dead – except for the evergreens, there’s no sign of life.  Animals are in hiding, or hibernation, and many of us would just prefer to sleep the winter away.  Yet right in the midst of all of that ickyness, we get Christmas!  Special lights are everywhere making places look even more beautiful than usual.  Radio stations and cd players are full of happy, joyful music that we save for this special season.

Christmas gives us excitement and hope that in the midst of the barren and dark earth, that new life and light is coming.  I don’t suppose it’s any accident that we celebrate this oh so special day right in the smack dab of winter!

To hear the SMU Seminary Singers perform People Look East, click here.

Here’s your weekly Music Monday! From Todd Agnew’s Christmas Album, here’s Christy Nockels singing Mary’s song from the Gospel of Luke, commonly known as the Magnificat. In this video, it’s put to scenes from The Nativity Story. If you’re at a church that uses the revised common lectionary, you might recognize it from yesterday’s readings! It’s a song that has always stuck with me, and Christy (and Todd) did an incredible job on this version. Enjoy – and Merry Christmas!

but keep the old; one is silver and the other gold.

If you’ve been through any level of Girl Scouts or know anyone who has been involved in Girl Scouts in any way, you’re familiar with this song.  Or perhaps you have absolutely no connection with Girl Scouts whatsoever, but you still know the song.  As the year comes to an end, I’ve been reflecting on all the people who have had an influence in my life over what has been an incredible transition year for me.

I’m so thankful for the new people in my life – some of who would be quite surprised that they made the list of influential people.  People who don’t care about what’s happened in my past, they just see me for who I am today and love me for it.  I hope that I get the chance to let them know who they are and why they have become so special to me.

And then there’s the old.  Some way older than other.  These are people who, through thick and thin, have been there.  They’ve seen the good, bad and the ugly and have held my hand through it.  Heck – sometimes they’ve carried me through it.  A lot of times I’ve lost touch with the people that fall in to this category – many of them live all over the nation and I don’t get to see or talk to them near enough.  Amazingly enough, this distance hasn’t affected our friendships negatively.  I am so very thankful for that.

So to the old and the new – thank you.  I wouldn’t be who I am without any of you.  This Christmas, please know that I’m celebrating the gift of friendship of each and every one of you.

Here’s a recap of Soul Munchies over 2009 in two different ways.  Thanks to Wordle for this fun Monday afternoon distraction!