Typepad has had issues these past couple of days so, I thought I’d post a "VLOG." Here’s an end of day reflection about Advent.

Peace of Christ,

K.C.

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It must be bizzaro day. Gas was really cheap this morning. What a treat…hehe

I was about to go to bed. Had to cruise my east coast buddy Jenny’s blog here. Then I came across pomomusing’s blog which, I’ve also enjoyed reading and keeping up on emergent things…and I’m now wide awake again with glee…funny, funny, funny, can’t wait to see what the emergent beard will look like.I’m the first little dude on the bottom left. I’m though considering a change…what’s the post-evangelical beard look like?

HT: POMOMUSINGS

I have several memories of the holiday
season growing up as a kid and as a matter of fact many of them often show up
right around now. Often we want to avoid or run from those memories and we find
a way of escape to deal with the pain of memories of the past. The memory of
not having much when I was a kid often shows up. The holiday season has this
way of creeping up, reminding you of all of the things you don’t have. Our kids
often remind us of the things they’d love to have. (If I hear the words,
"XBOX" 360 again, I will spew) Growing up there was always that fear
of not having a place to live. When I was in high school there were times I
moved around from one person’s house to another. There’s even the memory of my
parents not being able to provide for us when we were kids. Those fears arise
sometimes when you have to decide which bill you have to pay or not pay,
"student loans," or "car payment?"

How do you deal with the painful memories of
holidays past? How do you move to a place of letting go, grasping hope, and
receiving the strength God give to us as his children? And how do you as a
parent help your kids come to a place of gratefulness? When it comes to the
later of teaching our kids to not expect much, but to be grateful for what God
has blessed us with, I feel we’ve done pretty well. I’ve also become aware of
the responsibility and call as parents to help our kids come to peace with what
the Lord has blessed them with and to help them give thanks for what they have,
even in the midst of combating consumerism and this "xbox obsession."
When it comes to the painful memories of past holidays like Christmas, I’ve
learned to let the Lord walk with me in the midst of the painful memories, and
to trust that he isn’t done with his work of molding and the reshaping of my
heart. I’ve learned two things in dealing with the painful memories from
holidays past, two ways that I believe are helpful in placing our focus onto
the Christ child during this season of advent.

1. Let the body of Christ be your
strength. I remember one
Christmas Eve growing up when I went with a bunch of friends from my church,
out for dessert after a Christmas Eve service. Although, the realization of not
having some kind of family to go home to that night, who would celebrate
Christmas and the birth of Christ, or at least do something together as a
family, was somewhat painful, being with my friends, my church, the ones who
loved me, and being with people who had the same purpose in celebrating the
birth of Jesus was what gave me strength and hope to deal with the hard stuff,
the spew of life. Paul’s words from Hebrews
10:24-25 speak to me clearly about the body of Christ being the place where
we as followers of Christ can find the strength from those around us, within
the hope found in living in Christian community. In this life giving community,
we find the strength to move through the chaos and the painful memories that
arise during the holiday season.

2. Letting go and grasping the hands
of God allows us to move through the pain. Easier said than done. I find myself often thinking
about the what ifs? What if my mother never died? What if I could have
spoken words of truth to her, hoping she would accept Christ? What if my
brother never died? What if I can’t or won’t be able to provide for my family?
I can dwell on these what ifs or I can move to a place of letting go.

In Henri Nouwen’s book, Turn My Mourning
into Dancing, he describes the trapeze artist, and the need for the person
holding onto the crossbar, to be able to let go of the bar, to trust that
person’s partner on the receiving side, that he or she will be able to grasp
their hands to complete the act. (My paraphrase) I love this image. Letting go
is hard, but as followers of Christ, to allow and to grasp the hands of God
helps us to move freely through the pain. Knowing God holds onto us as his
children and takes us to the other side, where rest for the weary and healing
for the soul are ours, should give us some kind of peace in dealing with the
pain of the past.

Friends, if you find yourselves grasping
onto the memories of past holidays, let go of the pain that burdens you. Grasp
the hands of the maker, the giver of hope, who takes you to the other side
where our hearts are healed from the pain that burdens us and that takes our
eyes off of truly preparing for the coming of the baby king, and most of all
rejoice in your brokenness and let it be a testimony of God’s never ending love
and grace, a love that was shown to us in the gift of the Christ child.

“Is Williams’ redemption complete and sincere, or is it just a hollow promise?” Schwarzenegger wrote less than 12 hours before the execution. “Without an apology and atonement for these senseless and brutal killings, there can be no redemption.”  Gov. Schwarzenegger

One blogger tonight wrote something like, Tookie DIE! Another blogger made reference to the fact that it’s the Christian right who’s yelling that Tookie should DIE, which scares me as a pastor. As a pastor, how do you work through the moral and ethical issues faced within the church? How do you help the people of God discern what’s right and what’s wrong? When it comes to the death penalty, how do you discern who’s to die and how do you know if someone hasn’t made things right? It’s tough. Where do I stand? As a pastor, I stand on the side of grace. I have to hope that Tookie made things right with the Lord in his heart. I remember when my youngest brother died of a crack cocaine overdose and when my father died of complications due to alcoholism, I questioned whether or not they had accepted Christ and his forgiveness. I have to hope they did. I have to trust that sometime in their lives, the Holy Spirit intervened upon their hearts and that they received the Lord’s grace. My prayer is for Tookie Williams and his heart tonight. My prayer is that he made things right with the Lord, for the Lord has already redeemed him and loves him just as much as this sinner.

tookie williams

I will occasionally browse a few blogs of our students here at church. Although some of the content I’ve noticed would scare the "snot" out of some of their parents, occasionally you find well thought out reflections on issues that they are facing and dealing with as youth. Here is something I found over the weekend:

Christmas really never ceases to amaze me. Think about everything that
Americans can do or stress about and put it together in one season =
Christmas. Why is Christmas stressful? Maybe it’s because finals? Or
maybe all the shopping we have to fit in a one week period? Visiting
relatives? Events and parties to go to? Christmas caroling? Decorating?
Cooking and baking? Putting up the Christmas tree [fake or real!]?
Christmas pageants? Wrapping presents? Sometimes with all the things we
think we have to do, we get so wrapped up in the commercialism and
CULTURE of the holiday season. We forget why we even HAVE Christmas in
the first place. Sure every one knows what really Christmas is, we’ve
heard it every year at church since we were 2! But do you really
UNDERSTAND it? I don’t think I’ve ever really understood Christmas
until this year. (A lot can happen in a year…) This year, my family
won’t be celebrating Christmas like "normal". There won’t be any
presents under the tree. No family visiting. No Christmas lights (for
now). Sure we’ll still go to church. But yet, I’m sure it will be the
best Christmas ever because we’re going to focus on other more
important things… like helping others… feeding the hungry (both
spiritually and physically)… remembering Christmas as it was made to
be… a holiday of remembering JESUS! The real reason for the season!
If you think of Christmas this way, all the stress seems to fade
away… so just remember when ur stressed out… Jesus IS THE reason
for the season! luv you all! And merry Christmas!

HT: Alicia-Bo-Beesha

Steve is an awesome guy and has been one of my closest friends from high school. We both grew up at the Hollywood Presbyterian Church in the youth ministry programs and his pop was the Choir director and the main music dude for years at the Hollywood church. Now Steve is the man in charge at Fred Bock Music. Steve was my best man in my wedding and has always been someone I’ve talked to about the "stuff" of church and who has lots of wisdom…Today is Steve’s birthday. Every year I’ve seemed to forget Steve’s birthday…and I always call him on a different day…well today I remembered that it was today…hehe…go to Steve’s blog and tell him happy birthday for me…he’s a good guy…and he’s just begun blogging and will have lots to offer us blogging followers of Jesus.

I just finished helping officiate a memorial service for a wonderful man and friend named Stan Burket. The service ended with those in attendance singing "This is my father’s world." It summarized Stan’s wonderful life.

This is my Father’s world, and to my listening ears
All nature sings, and round me rings the music of the spheres.
This is my Father’s world: I rest me in the thought
Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas;
His hand the wonders wrought.

This is my Father’s world, the birds their carols raise,
The morning light, the lily white, declare their Maker’s praise.
This is my Father’s world: He shines in all that’s fair;
In the rustling grass I hear Him pass;
He speaks to me everywhere.

This is my Father’s world. O let me ne’er forget
That though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet.
This is my Father’s world: the battle is not done:
Jesus Who died shall be satisfied,
And earth and Heav’n be one.

This is my Father’s world, dreaming, I see His face.
I ope my eyes, and in glad surprise cry, “The Lord is in this place.”
This is my Father’s world, from the shining courts above,
The Beloved One, His Only Son,
Came—a pledge of deathless love.

This is my Father’s world, should my heart be ever sad?
The lord is King—let the heavens ring. God reigns—let the earth be glad.
This is my Father’s world. Now closer to Heaven bound,
For dear to God is the earth Christ trod.
No place but is holy ground.

This is my Father’s world. I walk a desert lone.
In a bush ablaze to my wondering gaze God makes His glory known.
This is my Father’s world, a wanderer I may roam
Whate’er my lot, it matters not,
My heart is still at home.

I love my time away from church…as long as I stay away from the church that is…this morning "chicken little" AKA boy number three had a doctors appointment to have a water gun ear wax remover stuffed down his ear…let’s just say…that the boy had more wax in his ear than our advent candles at church…whoever invented the ear wax remover for kids…you are very blessed and loved by parental units across the world…boy number two…well…get’s a nasty cold..stays home…has to run errands with boy number three and myself…had fun watching wax being sucked out of little brothers ears…cleaned house…made dinner…"tostada night"…before dinner, I ran to the store, the meat guy in the meat section of Safeway tells me this story about a woman today who pulls up in her Yukon to the wannabe built in Safeway Starbucks store (Real Starbucks Store with real drive thru only 2 minutes away in the same parking lot of built in wannabe Starbucks store in Safeway)…leaves her car running…runs in, grabs mocha, comes out of built in wannabe Starbucks at Safeway…her Yukon, gone! Lessons learned on day off? Keep an eye on wax boy and when I’m able to afford a Yukon one day…don’t leave it running in front of wannabe built in Starbucks store…back to the office in the morning to meet with a fellow pastor buddy and his youth director to discuss the transition from big church youth ministry to small little Presbyterian church youth ministry…what I shall I say? The only thing I can think right now is found here. 

Typepad now has a video blog feature through videoegg.com. Thought I’d try it out. I’ll have to get creative and do something fun with this…as it will only be free for a short while.

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