Well, Christmas is over and the New Year has begun. How quickly it passes, but how wonderful it was! Like most people, I spent time with family. We gathered together in a nice warm house and watched as the grandchildren ripped open presents and bounced with joy.
When I was young, I used to ask my Grandma what she would like for Christmas. And she would say something like; “I’ll have all I’d ever want at Christmas”. Now I understand.
The presents and the feast and the decorations and music and the tree….it’s all wonderful. But it was the family being together that gave me ‘all I’d ever want at Christmas’.
I will never forget little 2 year old Isaac as he ripped open his carpenter set, sliped the bright yellow safety glasses across his cheeks and plunked the big plastic hard hat on his head. He just squealed with joy as he ran from one to another fixing everything and everyone with the little noisy drill. We laughed till the tears flowed!
We were delighted by the innocence and sweet joy of our little one. I could feel my heart strings sing.
Love. That’s what it is you know. The gift of a great, deep love. I am so blessed to share this with family. It makes me more aware of the gift given to us on that first Christmas morning, when God gave us Jesus. I can just picture Mary gently smiling as her heart swelled with love.
As we enter into this New Year of 2012, let’s make a resolution. Not to quit smoking or over eating or whatever. But to begin something. Let’s begin to live our life with a heart full of love. What a difference we could make if we faced each moment and every decision through the lens of love.
May 2012 be warmed with ‘all you’d ever want at Christmas’ all year long.
During Advent season each week has a theme. The first Sunday is Hope, the second, Peace and the third Joy.
This Sunday we celebrate the joy that comes with the gift of our Savior. Each Christmas we get caught up in a whirl wind of gift buying and preparing for guests. We are focused on decorating and visiting and getting things done. This is a busy, busy season for sure. I wonder, in the midst of all our ‘doing’, what are we feeling?
Of course you’re feeling rushed…maybe even a little panicked. And I know we feel the stress of time restraints and financial worries. It is very likely that many of us begin to feel a little overwhelmed. Some may even give up on all that decorating, gift buying and guest pleasing. I’ve heard many say that it’s all about the children enjoying the season. That makes it all worth while. That’s why we put up the tree and battle through the crowded stores. Makes sense.
BUT…where is the joy?
Where, oh where, is the joy.
It’s not in that crowded store. Not even in that beautiful tree.
Funny how we seek joy from things outside of ourselves. When, all along, it has been inside each of us. Created in the soul that enlivens our being. And on this Christmas day, that soul stirs. Rejoices. Anticipates.
Christmas morning we celebrate the birth of the one who is our souls’ connection to God the Creator.
Joy is in the soul. If we could peel away the stress and the shopping and the decorating. If we could look deep into the spirit of who we are. There we would find joy.
And this is the kind of wonderful holy joy that, if allowed, will eminate outward. If released, this blessed feeling will become contagious.
Christmas is not about shopping or decorating or baking. It is not even about the kids smile on Christmas morning. It is about a much deeper joy than you get from opening a gift. This joy will last and grow and carry you through anything and everything. It is God’s blessing and it is within you to give.
For those who are hard to buy for…give them joy.
Give yourself the gift of joy.
As we continue to walk toward that wonderful Chrsistmas morn…may the blessing of God’s hope, peace and joy fill your heart.
This is the first week of Advent. Traditionally this is the four weeks before the birth. It is a time of waiting. We are waiting for a Christmas gift.
I remember when my children were little and the cabbage patch kids were all the rage. I did something crazy that year. Three weeks before Christmas I joined dozens and dozens of other mothers to line up in front of the Woolco. Do you remember Woolco? It was THE store before the WalMart came onto the scene. Anyway, there I was among all these strangers and in a panic. It was just announced that they had received some more cabbage patch dolls. For months we’d all been trying to buy one for our children and the stores kept running out of stock. Now was my chance! The girls just HAD to have one.
It was exhausting! But rewarding. I not only got one cabbage patch, I was able to pick up one for each of my girls. WOW. That was going to be one great Chrsitmas morning. I could hardly wait to see the look on their faces when they opened up their cabbage patch dolls.
And it was as joyful as I had hoped. They were so surprised. After all, everyone knew that these dolls were very hard to come by. My girls squealed and danced around with their cabbage patch kids clung to their chest. How they loved them. It was great!
But it didn’t last.
In a short time these longed-for dolls joined the rest of the toys in the toy box. It seems that maybe they weren’t as absolutely necessary as the girls thought. Or as I thought for that matter. Amazing what a bit of public hype can do to a persons’ reasoning.
We’ve all had this happen. Our children think they just HAVE to have something. We finally give in and buy it, only to find out that its’ greatness is short lived.
Actually, that happens to adults just as often. How many things do we get talked into buying? We are made to believe that a new gadget is an absolute necessity. We deserve it. But once it’s home it’s importance changes dramatically. The anticipation was the best part.
We anticipate Christmas and all that it means. And yes, we hope for the gift that we think is absolutely necessary to make our life fulfilled.
And we will receive that gift this year. But it won’t be a cabbage patch doll, or a car, or a diamond, or a vacumn cleaner. All those things loose their shine pretty fast. Especially the vacumn cleaner! But even a diamond can loose its sparkle!
The gift we’ll receive this year is truly necessary. It will delight us. And it will never loose it’s importance.
The gift we’ll receive this year is hope…hope in the form of new beginnings.
It is peace…peaceful as the sound of a baby’s trusting coo.
Our gift is love…the great love of one giving their life for another
This Christmas our gift is joy. Great joy. Great and lasting joy. Forever and ever, your cup runneth over, kind of joy.
I wonder, would we be willing to line up for hours with a group of over-anxious parents in front of a busy Walmart store if it was annouced that this gift of hope, peace, joy and love was a limited edition?
I would.
God bless
Like so much of this world, our faith family is going through a period of transition. It’s a tough thing to do. Very few people are happy to welcome change into their lives. It is a peculiar bit of psychology though, considering that the only constant in life is change. Nothing remains the same.
Why is it that the same people who have celebrated some transitions in their life find it so difficult, yes even repulsive, to accept some change in their church? Yes, we look back with nostalgia on the good ole days when our mothers patiently fed each article of the wash into the wringer …but no woman I know would willingly trade in her automatic for a good ole wringer washer and the rinse tub!!
I remember the cold nights when my Dad would join some other Dads at the town ice rink. There they would get out the hose and flood the grounds over and over until they had built an ice surfice for the kids to play hockey. Dad would come home chilled to the bone with his hands raw. My sons-in-law wouldn’t think of trading in their ice makers and zambonis for the good ole days!
Yes, it is peculiar how we resist certain changes. In St. Pauls we have developed a 5 year plan to ‘re-invent St. Pauls’ calls for revitalization. We want to be revelent to people in the present day. Our church family embraced this call to evolve. Now we struggle to walk the bumpy path of exploration that this call includes.
I suppose it would be easier if there was an instruction book somewhere that would tell us how to move into the 21st century and cope with all that means. It would be so much more acceptable if there were some one, somewhere, who had travelled a difficult path of change…. someone to follow, who could calm our fears with solid guidance and direction. Someone who could give us hope when we get scared and love us through it all.
Wait! There is someone!
That someone is Jesus.
Wow! He not only lived in times of change, he WAS change personified. The priests and worshipers of that day were shocked by Jesus and his radical ministry. The norm at the time was a leadership of Priests, aloof and untouchable. Jesus led people by mingling and touching them where they were. His ministry was meaningful because he made it relevant to the ordinary person. He touched the untouchable, spoke to lowly women and children and healed the marginalized. Jesus shocked the priests and anyone who knew the old traditions. He changed the Holy rules. Those divisive laws that were once the accepted norm were exchanged for loving and accepting examples of God’s love on earth.
“The great thing in the world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving.” ….Oliver Wendell Holme
We stand in a shaky, evolving world… but we need not fear for our direction is the great thing…as long as we continue to be directed by our Lord and Savior.
We do have someone to lead us through these changing times. May we have the courage to hang onto our gracious Savior as we struggle to find ourselves in this post modern world.
Thanks be to our God.
Thank Goodness it’s Friday!
Wow…we sure can fill a week can’t we! I never thought I’d see the day when I had to say to someone; “wait till I check my calendar” before making plans.
But here I am… so dependent on my iphone that I’d be lost without it. My father would just be horrified! I can hear him say; ’How can you get too busy for family time?’.
I have to think about that. It’s one thing to say to a friend or co-worker; “wait till I check my calendar”. But when you find yourself saying that to your loved ones…
On one hand, life is full of to-do lists and we have to be responsible and get these things done. On the other hand, what can be more important than family and relationships?
It’s about prioritizing, isn’t it. Nurturing connections has to be number one. While we’re busy and life just keeps ticking away, we really don’t realize what is most important to us. Everything can seem so critical. But just think about those who have gone through disaster and are forced to consider what really counts in their life. When the tornado tore apart homes and churches and lives in southern Ontario this summer, it brought things into sharp focus. What did people worry most about? Their family.
We can replace everything else, but our loved ones are irreplacealbe.
I’d say that puts them on the top of the priority list. Wouldn’t you?
Today, I will phone my children before I finish the sermon.
Because loving someone is more important that doing something.
My prayer for you is for many precious moments shared with someone you love.
August is coming to a close! How fast the summer is going! Have you all enjoyed the heat? Yes I know, at times it was too hot…but winter is coming and then it’ll be too cold. We are a hard bunch to please sometimes aren’t we.
I remember as a parent trying to find something that we could do as a family that all three children would enjoy. Michael wanted to go to soccer, Becky wanted to swim and Penny just wanted a good book. Who to please? It’s not easy for sure. I suppose that’s how God must feel at times. One person praying for sunshine and another longing for rain. One hoping their day would soon end the next praying that it would go on forever.
I guess it really depends on our attitude. While God provides many gifts, it is our privilege to interpret them. As each new day comes with it’s own set of gifts, we can choose to find the good and rejoice or look for the negative.
Each night I write in my gratitude journal.
Tonight I will be thanking God for Jack Layton’s message…”My friends, love is better than anger. hope is better than fear. optimism is better than despair. so let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. and we’ll change the world.”
Yes, let us not waste our precious time rumenating on the negative because the negative does not promote life. Instead, let us interpret each day in an optimistic light, and offer hope and love to those we meet.
And yes Jack, we can change the world.
May God bless the spirit of Jack Layton while holding his loved ones gently in Holy hands.
This is Saturday. This is the day I re-do my sermon and invent a children’s time for Sunday service. There’s phone calls to make and correspondence to catch up on. Of course there’s cleaning to do and laundry waiting. Saturday is always a mish-mash of things. It reminds me of our our junk drawer in the kitchen, Saturday holds all the ‘I’ll tend to it later‘ stuff.
Being a responsible adult can be a drag. (Do they still say that??)
Today I’ll get my sermon re-done, and think about children’s time. The rest will happen as it should. But I do promise myself one thing…I promise to make time for the wonder of this day. The smell of freshly cut grass, the gift of spring flowers and the playfulness of my puppies. Yes, that’s how God would want me to spend my Saturday.
May your busy day be seasoned with the joys of God’s creation.
Blessings,
Heather
 The cast of the Good Friday play Our Good Friday service was unique and very meaningful thanks to all who participated. Rev. David Cooper did the service in the Sanctuary. Rev. David Atton played Jesus throughout the scenes except the crucifixion. Scott Henderson did an amazing job of the cross scene. Carl Weiderick was wonderful in his many different roles. Our ‘disciples’ were Jane Osmond, Janice Allen, Ruth Burnham, Jim Widdowson, Mary Villanyi, Elaine Mann, Cathy McCrea, Susie Stowell, Deanna Cudmore, Brian Wood, and Ian Wood. I had the priviledge to play Mary. Many thanks to all those who lent us plants, baskets, material etc. and helped set up. A special thanks to Stone House Gardens for loaning us so many wonderful props. Also we are very grateful to those who shared their creative talents; Ken and Bobbi Robinson who quilted a beautiful “holy spirit’, and Ruth Allanson for the wonderful backdrop in the wilderness scene.
So many people to thank, and I’m sure I’ve missed a few.
Thanks be to God who created us in all our diversity. May we continue to share all our varied gifts in ways that offer Holy love into our midst.
Greetings to all;
As I write this there is much happening in our world.
- Japan is gasping with grief as they continue to struggle for life after the disasters of March 11th. The 9.0 magnitude earthquake and resulting tsunami has left 12,157 people dead and 15,496 others unaccounted for so far with millions of dollars of damage.
- Eman al-Obeidy, the woman who burst into a Tripoli hotel to tell journalists she was beaten and raped by forces loyal to Libyan leader Gadhafi last month, was dragged off to prison, brutalized and accused of being drunk, insane or involved in prostitution. She is given no rights or respect as a human being and lives under the threat of murder. Her attackers remain free.
- It is estimated that 10.9% of all South Africans have HIV/AIDS. Hundreds of children are left without parents and scrape out a dangerous existence in poverty.
- Desperate parents have sold young children into the sex trade or slavery in order to afford raising the rest of their family.
- We watch as Global warming shrinks the North Pole and threatens the lives of polar bears and other animals. The melted ice could change the landscape of the planet.
Wow! So much is happening. And much of it is the sad news of what can happen when human kind continues to live by the love of power instead of by the power of love.
At Easter we witness again the tragedy that the love of power can cause. The authorities of the day crucified a man of love because they recognized him as a threat to their way of life. Jesus died on Good Friday. It made no more sense at that time then the tragedies I have mentioned above make to us today. But it happened.
The miraculous part of this story is witnessed on Easter Sunday. Those who helplessly stood by and watched the murder of their beloved Jesus shared a joy which healed the pains of yesterday and raised the hope for tomorrow. They witnessed the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Resurrection. As disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ, we study our position in this life and discover a way to become part of the resurrection power. This is our goal as Christians who walk the path of Lent again this year. May we feel the depth of despair on that tragic and senseless Friday and move with determined purpose into the hope of resurrection on that wonderful Easter morn. Steeped in the hope of Christ¹s resurrection, we can make a difference in this great-created world.
This is our prayer, amid the pains of injustice and helplessness, grief and greed, may we witness the phoenix of resurrection. Out of the ashes of global warming, discrimination and disease, may we be part of the glory of Holy hope.
With you in prayers and possibilities,
Rev. Dr. Heather Froats
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Mission Statement St. Paul’s United Church is an inclusive Christian Community.
Led by God’s spirit, we creatively and passionately serve by engaging in the challenges of contemporary life.
We celebrate Jesus in joyous worship, loving fellowship and compassionate outreach.
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