Blessed Suspension...

We rush. We scurry. We scamper. We almost wear it like a badge of honor. We greet each other with lamentations about how busy we are...about how much there is to do...about how crazy jam packed our schedule is. We finish those discussions with a shrug of the shoulders and a somewhat flippant, "Oh well...tis the season." Merry Christmas.

To be honest, I'm trying to determine if I really am that much busier during this time of year or if I have just become accustomed to the dialogue...to "Oh well...tis the season." Frankly, I'm pretty busy all the time...regardless of the season. But, no matter...we rush. We scurry. We scamper.

Ironically, this season of relentless activity is also the time that most things just stop...are disregarded...are suspended. Those of you in sales know that you can pretty much forget about making appointments from Thanksgiving on. Potential customers say, "Call me after the first of the year...we'll get together then." My daughter's basketball team played their last game of the year on December 19th. The schedule will resume in January. School is out until January 5th or so. Sometime on Christmas Eve, most stores will close. There will be about 36 hours of total lock down. No haggling...no packaging...no assembly. For the most part, commerce is suspended. Banks will close. The mail won't run. Factories stand idle and quiet.

There is a deeper level of suspension as well. We won't think about that health concern until Christmas is over. We will not worry about family finances until Christmas is over. We will put off that decision until the first of the new year. That thing that is bothering us, that thing that must be confronted, that thing that must be dealt with, that thing that is going to affect us, that thing that will have an impact on our lives...well...it will just have to wait...whatever it is...because it's Christmas.

I think there can be something profoundly blessed in the suspension. It is in the suspension...the time that we just stop all that we do...that we remember. Our breathing catches...we blink absently...and then it dawns on us all over again.

Christmas means many different things to many different people. But, if you condense all the many meanings of Christmas down to one simple truth...you will always end up with just four words. Over and over and over again...four words...God is with us.

It would have been a busy, anxious, confusing time for Joseph and Mary too. For Joseph, there were the normal things...making a living...preparing to be married...building a future. Then his wife-to-be is suddenly pregnant...and not by him. The news would have started his world spinning as he tried to discern how to deal with the situation. Then an angel appeared and told him not to worry about it and that Mary would give birth to a son that would save all people from their sins. Near the same time, an angel was visiting Mary and telling her not to worry about the fact that she was pregnant and that she would give birth to the holy one which would be called the Son of God. In the midst of all this news, Caesar Augustus decided to hold a census so everyone had to go to his "hometown" to register. "Oh great!", Joseph must have thought. Now he had to take his pregnant wife...who was nearly ready to deliver...and travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem in order to meet his obligations as an inhabitant. Of course, they couldn't find a room so they go out to a stable...a cave probably...and hoped to call it a night. Mary goes into labor...the baby is coming.

The baby is born. At some point, I imagine that Mary and Joseph experience the blessed suspension. A real baby...crying real tears. Their breath catches...they blink absently and everything just stops. It dawns on them...God is with us. He is on our planet...in our midst...in this manger. The prophesy is fulfilled. It now makes sense. The Holy God of Israel...the One of whom the angels speak.

Emmanuel. Jesus. God is with us.

And so, here we are in 2008...busy...frantic...bordering on panic. Some are afraid, confused, dazed. All of us are trying to make sense of the things in our lives. Then...the blessed suspension. Everything just stops. It dawns on us again. It is Christmas.

God is with us. Those same four words which changed human history can change us too. Those four words are the only words that can bring meaning to the deepest parts of us. No matter what we are facing...we are not alone...and we never have been...and we never will be. Because God in Christ wrapped himself in human flesh. The God of the Universe stepped out of eternity and in to time..in to human history...in order to communicate one, simple truth. God is with us.

The blessed suspension.

Just four words...

God is with us.

Merry Christmas everyone.

I love you.

Champions!

I have been waiting for it rather anxiously. It appeared this morning on my MSN homepage. I can hardly wait to dive in to my 2008-09 edition of the complete Bowl Game Viewer's Guide. It details information about each of the teams and highlights key players. It analyzes the match ups and ranks them from worst to first in order of interest. It even offers me a chance to pick the game winners either privately for my own enjoyment or in a contest with other online players.

The fact is, I love watching college football. Over the course of the next three weeks, I'm going to watch a lot of it.

I'm going to watch Texas Tech and Ole Miss in the Cotton Bowl because I think it will be a fun game. I'm going to watch Oklahoma State play Oregon because I love Justin Roper...the Oregon quarterback. He, his family and I go to church together. I'm going to be pulling for Georgia Tech against LSU in the Chick-fil-et Bowl because my neighbor Loree Anne's boyfriend is Tech's running back..Lucas Cox, #36. He seems to be a good guy. (I am quickly becoming a Tech fan. I think it is because they had the courage to play the Gardner-Webb runnin' bulldogs this year - my Alma Mater. By the way...Tech only won by 3.) I wish Louisville had beaten Cincy, or Rutgers, or West Virginia so I could watch Hunter Cantwell play one more time. Hunter and his family are former church members too. Hunter is a class act headed for great things. I'm going to be pulling for Georgia to beat Michigan State because...well...I'm a bit of a Georgia homer. Don't know why.

Then of course, there is Oklahoma vs. Florida in the BCS Championship game. I'm going to be pulling for both teams. Actually, I'm going to be pulling for both quarterbacks. I want them both to have amazing games...to do amazing things. I want them to make history. I want their names to be household words. I want them to become legends.

Why...? So that the next time Sam Bradford, the OK quarterback, is doing an interview for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes magazine Share The Victory...or the next time he is doing a video bible study series for them....kids might listen a bit closer. Or, the next time the Gator QB Tim Tebow is sharing his faith with orphaned kids in the Philippines or sharing his faith in a prison somewhere...he might be heard.

I don't care who wins the game. You see, to me it is not being a champion that matters...but rather what or who you are a champion for.

These talented guys are just kids really. They aren't perfect. But they do have a voice...pray for them...that they can be heard.
Check out this short video about Tim Tebow.

The Santa Claus or the Reindeer?

He'll be 84 in July. He is a preacher....and has been for over 60 years. His has been a life dedicated to sharing the love of Christ with whomever is in front of him...wherever he might be.

He is from a family of preachers. His Father and several of his brothers have spent their lives climbing in to pulpits and ministering to their respective congregations. His is a rich and storied heritage.

There is no counting the number of sermons he has preached. More importantly, there is no counting the number of hours he has spent in preparing messages of truth and encouragement for those in his congregations. It is a labor of love....the love of Christ in him.

He has made stands...with integrity...with courage...with consistency. He was essentially run out of South Carolina for refusing to compromise...to bow...to concede. His stand there (many years ago) was that all are equal in the eyes of God. Race, gender, social status, and economic strata do not matter. His sacrifice...his stand...was a labor of love. The love of Christ in him.

He moved into an assisted living facility with his precious wife, now deceased, a few years ago. It was his newest "congregation." He shepards them. He patiently rounds them up and helps them get here and there. It is a labor of love...the love of Christ in him.

In his retirement...remember he is 83...he spends his days as a volunteer chaplain at Emory Johns Creek Hospital. He visits with every patient and their families. He prays with them. He encourages them. He lightens their load even though it is more than a little difficult, physically, for him to walk those halls. It is a labor of love...The love of Christ in him.

He is a legend. He is known. He is a theologian. He is a modern day martyr.

He shares the love of Christ with whomever is in front of him...wherever he might be.

This past Wednesday, it was in the living room of a neighbor at Ivy Hall...where he lives. Ironically, it was the same living room that he and his wife lived in when she was alive. After her death...he moved into a smaller place so as to make room for others. He had been at "craft time." The project for the day was making and decorating Christmas stockings. I can only imagine what creative thoughts were going through his mind. He was not preparing a sermon...he was making a stocking. He was not delving into scripture...he was delving into felt. He was not studying theology...he was manipulating scissors and Elmer's Glue. I can bet you, however, that the most prevalent thing on his mind was the woman upstairs who was keeping vigil at her husband's side. The woman upstairs who was going to say her earthly goodbye's to the man she had been married to for 66 years at any moment. The woman upstairs who couldn't make it to "craft time."

So...he made two stockings.

He came into the room balancing the creations on one arm while clutching his cane in his other hand. He put his cane down and spread his feet in order to balance himself. He presented both stockings to the woman...he held them out proudly. He said, "Do you want the Santa Claus or the Reindeer." Your choice.

All his theology...all his preparation...all his legend...all his martyrdom...all his ministry was summed up in that one simple question.

You see...it was a labor of love...the love of Christ in him.

With whomever is in front of you...wherever you are...however you can...love.

Jesus...Not Just An Ornament

It is easy to get caught up in it. I do...every year. I'm neither ashamed nor embarrassed. The fact is, I love Christmas! I love everything about it.

I love shopping on the day after Thanksgiving with Connie. I go so far as to map out our shopping trip. I love the savings, the crowds, the piped in music in the stores, and seeing so many people in their carefully chosen Christmas shopping outfits. (For the record...I just throw on some jeans and a golf hat.) Mostly though, I just like being with Connie.

I love holding the ladder for Austin as he climbs...high...to hang the wreaths and bows on the windows of our house. This year, since our shrubbery out front has grown enough, Austin covered them with tiny white lights. I love the way it looks...and the way it makes me feel.

Much to our neighbors chagrin, we rigged up the giant, white, inflatable polar bear tonight. I love pulling up to our house at night and seeing it there...with hat and scarf and clutching a candy cane.

I love pulling out my chain saw and cutting the tree to fit. Truth is, I only cut about 2 inches off the bottom even though it wasn't really necessary to cut any length at all. I just like using my chainsaw at Christmas. By the way...I am from North Carolina and didn't grow up a city dweller. (I like using my Black & Decker to drill a perfectly centered quarter inch hole in the trunk of the tree for the tree stand too.)

Katie is now tall enough to help me string the lights on the tree. She loves Christmas as much as me. She won't sleep much between now and December 25th.

We'll now spend the rest of the week hanging an ornament or two on the tree as we walk by. We'll pull out some combinations of decorations and try to remember where we usually put them. We won't really remember...but it won't matter.

We'll go to parties and productions. We'll make Christmas cookies and fudge. We'll shop a little more. We'll watch movies.

We'll go to church on Christmas eve (I'll go several times...). We'll come home and sing some carols. Zack will probably play the guitar this year...he is now a far better player than me. We'll allow the kids to open one present (I caved on that one. I held out til two years ago...I got tired of being such a Scrooge about it.) Someone will read the Christmas story from the bible. I will read Twas the Night Before Christmas. We'll send the kids to bed and then...well...you know the drill.

Christmas morning will be so fun. I love...OK...I"m going to say it...I'm going to tell the truth...I LOVE seeing what Santa brought and I LOVE opening the presents we have bought for each other. I just do. I like presents....sue me.

I'll make the sausage balls. We'll play and read and nap and eat all day.

You may be asking, "OK Dave...Where is Christ is all of this celebration? Sounds highly secular to me." You are right. It is. The fact is, Christ is where he always is. I try...I really try...to make the Christ the center of my existence every day...not just at Christmas. Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Prince of Peace...Savior and Lord...every day. Not just another tradition...not just another ornament...not just another decoration. Not a seasonal spirituality or devotion in hyper drive.

I love Christmas. I love it in December.

I love Jesus...every moment of every day.

Enjoy this video from onetimeblind. They make the point well.

Hope Springs Eternal

The two venues could not have been more different. The circumstances that brought me to each were completely opposite of each other. The occasions were a mere hour apart. Just 60 minutes.

This past Tuesday night, I sat in the second row in the auditorium of Free Chapel in Gainesville, Georgia. The room was carefully decorated for Christmas. The lighting and the images on the three large screens created the feeling of being in a holiday, winter wonderland. I was among hundreds of parents, grandparents, siblings and friends who had gathered to participate in the annual Lakeview Academy Candlelight Service. It is a beautiful thing.

On this night, the children sing. Every student - from pre-K through 5th grade. Each student takes the stage with his or her class and performs a carefully rehearsed song for the season. Their outfits have been carefully assembled as well. Each child is decked out in their Christmas finest. There are lots of reds and greens and plaids and bows and ties. The evening culminates with the lighting of candles and the singing of Silent Night led by the Seniors of the Academy. It is beautiful and meaningful and warming.

I don't know why she, in particular, caught my eye...but she did. All of the children are cute and fun to watch. I suppose she was just representative of them all to me. If I had to guess, I'd say she was Korean. A second grader. Thin and petite. Her dress was a Christmas plaid...carefully chosen and fitted. Her hair was pulled back behind her head and gave residence to a big, red bow. Her legs were fitted with tights which featured Santa Claus. Her eyes were bright and smiling as she sang along with her classmates...just like they had practiced.

Her mother was beaming. Mom's heart was overflowing with love for her little girl. You could see it on her face. She loves her child in a way that no one else can. She may have thought of her on the day she was born. She remembers special moments shared during days gone by. She remembers the joy the child has brought into her life. More than anything, she fosters enormous hopes for her future. Mom sees her through the lens of what her little girl can grow to become. She is connected to her child in a special way...a way that never changes. Hope springs eternal. It was heart warming to watch.

One hour earlier, it was a very different scene. There was nothing festive or celebratory about Courtroom No. 2 in the Forsyth County Courthouse. There was no music. There were no beautiful images being projected onto a screen. In fact, the only screen in the room was for showing taped footage from security cameras. Parents, grandparents, friends and siblings were seated in the gallery for a very different reason.

He didn't take his place in the room as part of a carefully choreographed production. He was escorted by a uniformed deputy who had brought him from the jail across the street. His was not carefully chosen Christmas finery...it was simply the next orange jumpsuit on the stack. There were no Santa Clauses...only a number. He didn't raise his hands in joyful song. His hands were cuffed behind his back. I sat behind and slightly to the right of his mother. She is a friend of mine. I love her. She inspires me. I watched her.

Though a bit strained with tension and anticipation...His mother was beaming. Mom's heart was overflowing with love for her little boy. You could see it on her face. She loves her child in a way that no one else can. She may have thought of him on the day he was born. She remembers special moments shared during days gone by. She remembers the joy the child has brought into her life. More than anything, she fosters enormous hopes for his future. Mom sees him through the lens of what her little boy can grow to become. She is connected to her child in a special way...a way that never changes. Hope springs eternal. It was heart warming to watch.

Sixty minutes apart. Totally different...and yet exactly the same.

God, the Father, looks at us and He beams. His heart is overflowing with love for His children. You can see it in His nature...in His actions...in His sacrifice. He loves us, His children, in a way that no one else can. He remembers the day we were born. He remembers special moments shared during days gone by. He considers us His joy. More than anything, He fosters an enormous hope for our future. He sees us through the lens of what we can grow to become. He is connected to us in a special way...a way that never changes.

No matter who we are.

No matter where we are.

No matter what we have done.

No matter what we may do in the future.

Hope springs eternal.

Let your hearts be warmed everybody...God's peace to you all.