There is a rather large elephant in the room and I just need to address it. And no, I am not going to be talked down or convinced otherwise. This is simply so obvious, so glaringly apparent, and so tremendously clear that I need to dedicate this particular flash to it.
GOD’S DARING PLAN
God saw the mess the world was in and decided to do something about it. As He drew up the plan, he noticed that babies were the one exception to the mess the world had made of itself.
“Babies did not got to war,” Barbara Brown Taylor dreamily writes. “They never made hate speeches or littered or refused to play with each other because they belonged to different political parties… In fact, almost everyone seemed to love them. And that gave God an idea. Why not create himself as one of these delightful creatures?”
THE TANTRUMS OF GROWN-UPS
This Sunday we light the Second Advent candle, that of peace. And peace is always contextual, isn’t it? The stolid German household of my youth contrasted with my friend’s effusive Italian home. “Why do you all shout at each other?” I once asked him. “What? We are not shouting.”
LOVING THE LEFTOVERS
Many know by now my deep love for the holidays that occur in October, November, and December. I proudly wore my Halloween costume to church this year, and I have spoken openly about my love for pumpkins. I celebrated the first snow with some sparkly snowflake earrings from my mother-in-law, and purchased a pair of ice skates at the Fall Fair.
GROWING AND GIVING
A few weeks ago I enjoyed breakfast with a young family from our congregation. After covering an item on our agenda, and visiting together a bit, I could feel them hinting meekly around the edge of another question. It was about giving to the church. They hesitated, but I always appreciate directness on these matters.
IDEALS, BACKBONE, AND GRIT
“People should realize that it is always possible to preserve one’s ideals and one’s backbone; that one can stand up to lies; that there are values worth struggling for…and that no political defeat justifies complete historical skepticism as long as the victims manage to bear their defeat with dignity.”