From Enduring to Endearing Preparation

Malachi 3:1-4

I believe that Laura’s (my wife) favorite holiday is Thanksgiving. Her planning, shopping for and choosing of each item is flawless. The week before she is setting up the preparation plan and staging center – some foods in the fridge, some in the pantry area and some in the “cold house” (the shed) out back. As the day arrives she dawns on the apron and begins her symphony with the crescendo served up as guests arrive. A symphony of smells, presentation and tasteful delights – with a few tantalizing calories mixed in between.

Do we take time to prepare for Christmas and the spiritual journey or just jump into the Black Friday/Cyber Monday approach to the season? Advent is about preparation. In this day and age, time goes by very quickly with our busy and often interrupted lives. We celebrate Thanksgiving and then go Christmas shopping the next day. All too soon Christmas and the joy of celebrating Jesus' birth is upon us. Did we take time to notice the process and the journey, the preparation and the love of God? This Advent let’s not forget the preparation – the spiritual preparation that comes before Christmas Day.

Not everyone's participation is the same, or even similar - it could be very different, but I encourage you to take time to prepare yourself this Advent season. Take time to be present in the preparation and discover or experience something new and tantalizing this Advent season.

Broad Rivers and Streams...

Isaiah 33:21a
21But there the Lord in Majesty will be for us
a place of broad rivers and streams…

Have web sites too, invaded your e-mail as they have mine, calling you to their sites so you can do your Black Friday shopping early and specifically with them? Malls also are invading the newspapers and are already calling us to their bargains of plenty, as the Christmas shopping season comes down upon us all. They all speak of desire for more and hope for that right gift. “Come fill your shopping bag and fill our cash registers – come one and all to find that one elusive item and your Christmas worries will be over!” I feel better already (not).

The newness of the day is upon me and I have many paths beckoning me towards their way. Which one to take? A Hasidic story tells of a rabbi's son who used to wander in the woods. The rabbi asked his son, "I wonder why each day you walk in the woods?" The boy replied, "I go there to find God." "That's very good, son. But, don't you know that God is the same everywhere?" "Yes," the boy answered, "but I'm not."

Go today where you are fed, where you find the Lord in Majesty – a place of broad rivers and streams that flow with energy, producing a fruitfulness and abundance within the depths of your very soul, and a plethora of life along the river’s edge – go there first and then consider the call of the others. In this time of advent go to that place and wait with expectancy to be filled. I suspect that you will not be disappointed for you have been there before and know its richness.

From your friends at River Springs - have a delightful day!

Advent 1: Jeremiah 33:14-16

Hi there!
On a wall in our house we have gridiron pictures that speak to the last four years of high school football that have engulfed our family, with Matthew, our graduating senior, leading the charge. As I look upon them I am reminded of another picture at another time. A little guy snuggled in his mother’s womb and a U of O football announcing his arrival in a waiting nursery. Waiting and expectancy are inseparable.
This week marks the beginning of Advent – waiting and expectancy. A time of "bifocal" vision: to see both the cosmic picture as well as the immediate. Can we see the greater picture of God's loving purposes and action; as well as the immediate and personal setting, where God breaks into our lives in ordinary and un-ordinary ways? Amidst it all, the Advent-Christmas season offers us the hope and assurance that God is still at work – has been at work – will always be at work, offering love, grace and peace. Yes, even in the midst of fearful times.
The Son of God born on this earth – Advent 1. God’s plan full of waiting and expectancy, as well as God’s question to us – “Did you even notice?” Advent 1 challenges us to "Watch with expectancy." As you go through your day, what signs and wonders of God's activity do you observe? How is God's life giving message breaking out? Are you a part of it?
Heavenly Father, let us see with expectancy and grasp understanding with thankful hearts. Amen.