Almost a New Year

Wow! Has this week gone fast. I have had holidays and scheduled vacation time, and gotten some things done, but the days have gone by fast. I've been blessed spending time with friends and a moving Christmas Eve church service. All of these things have brought the true meaning of life and Christmas crystal clear to me. Keeping focused on this will be my challenge and my blessing for the new year. I've often reminded myself and friends that we are called to be mindful of our blessing in all things, including challenges that may come our way. Using precise and correct words, and being mindful of the meaning of those words and how their use effects our mind and its healthy functioning...this is my hope in 2009. Be aware of your blessings and count them one by one.

Shalom,
Peace,
Joy,
Love,

Rod

Merry Christmas, World

It's now almost 11 PM, Christmas Day--at least to most of the Christian world. December 25 is the day most people of the faith celebrate the birth of Jesus. Others celebrate on the 12Th day after, January 6, when the wise men of the east (Iran?) arrived and recognized birth of the King of the Jews. But that's not really the reason I'm writing.

After having some friends over for dinner and enjoying their company for several hours, I reflected on the preparation for the day. I would consider myself a pack rat, with a disconnect between bringing things into my house and organizing and, hopefully, removing things. Some people would call this cleaning, storing and basic "house 101". Recognizing it as a problem and coming up with a solution I can make work for me is, in my opinion, akin to defeating an addiction, like smoking, drinking, or drugs. It is also one of the reasons I do not entertain very much and only open the doors to a select group of people. There also seems to be a connection with a deep seated depression and anxiety. Couple that with the fact that, at an early age, most things came easy for me, especially schoolwork. Whatever didn't, I learned to avoid. Or am I just a lazy slob who finds excuses to avoid tasks I find uninteresting to spend my time on other things I get immediate satisfaction from?

So, in this last week of 2008 I will be looking for some solutions to help me move forward and be able to more effectively advance through 2009. It's only a start, but each journey does begin with a single step.

Mother Christmas, Hold Me Dear

After presents, Christmas makes me think of food. For most children of my generation, food immediately brings up Mom. For me, it's a time of special cookies and candies, especially fudge. Peanut butter fudge was always my favorite. All through the year things might seem slim as far as treats go, but Christmas time would seem to unleash a whole array of confections that every child would look forward to, even surpassing Halloween. After all, that was only one night. Christmas would go on for two or three weeks. Through all this, Mom would help us share something with others, as we'd work on gift packages of cookies and candy to give to relatives and family friends. It was a wonderful time.

So, in this week of Holiness, thoughts of sharing and food go hand in hand. Warm glows of kitchen stoves heated up to bake Christmas cookies and pans with fudge, ready to be poured and cooled, then eaten, all fill my head. I hope children of this generation can have some memories as good as that when they're much older.

Approaching Storm

Today, one week before Christmas, 2008, all seems calm. Writing from Burlington, Iowa, USA, hills above the Mississippi River in SE Iowa have two to four inches of snow on them. It is chilly; some would say cold. Our high temperatures today are predicted to be somewhere around freezing.

But weather forecasters warn us that a nasty winter storm is approaching. Between noon today and noon tomorrow we can expect a mix of freezing rain, sleet and snow. One week before Christmas, shoppers can be expected to add "survival" needs to their lists. Runs on bread, milk and other staples are a definite possibility. Many may be buying electrical generators, in the distinct possibility of losing their power. Others will purchase fuel oil or propane.

Jesus seems amazed when he talks of those in Jerusalem who can predict the weather on earth but can't see the signs of other things coming. In Luke 12:36 He says ,"Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that you don't know how to interpret this present time?" (NIV)

We often pay attention to what we are most interested in, ignoring that which we don't want to face. Spend time looking with open eyes at the world around you, knowing that God so loved the world.

Advent & A White Christmas

As a Christian, this is a blessed season. We await Jesus' birth anniversary. I know it was a date picked by the early church that may or may not be the actual day of the year the event occurred. That, long ago, became a moot point to me. Though I have no biological children of my own, I have been blessed with being connected with a young couple that have two sons. And they allowed me to be present in their lives from before both were born. Now almost twelve, their older son is a joy (most of the time) and is in Middle School. At six, his younger brother has just this year started his school years. It gives me pause to remember where I was at their age and what was going on in the world then. We've come a long way, mostly good, and there were many back then who wondered if we could survive as a species or if we'd blow ourselves up.

So as the talk of financial meltdown, bankruptcies and bailouts goes on, my devotional reading this morning reminded me to give thanks in all things. God has granted us many possibilities and immeasurable Grace. May you share with all this wondrous season.

WALKING IN A WINTER WONDERLAND

I'm writing in a little larger font than normal. My glasses are somewhat steamed over, as I just came in from shoveling snow from my sidewalk. One of the joys of home ownership. I had a little more time than I thought I would. I had planned on taking a couple of older ladies on a ride around town to look at the Christmas lights and decorations people have put up. Well, the weather turned a little more "Christmasy" than expected, so we postponed that ride.

I am blessed in having a number of friends, covering a wide spectrum of ages, interests, beliefs and political persuasions. The only reason I bring this up is the current turmoil in Illinois, where the current governor is charged with trying to sell the U.S. Senate seat, vacated by our president-elect Obama, corruption and extortion in a wide range of instances. Living just across the Mississippi River in Iowa, we have a good view on Illinois politics. Suffice to say, dating way back, one of its main hallmarks has been corruption. We can only hope that the stink doesn't rise higher or spread farther. One thing a good hard freeze should do is kill off the bugs, unless they burrow in and cover up with, well, you know.

Bright Lights here in River City

Back, way back in the day, as they say, when I was growing up in Orient, Iowa, population around 500, one of the few treats we had during the Christmas season was when Santa Claus would come to town, usually at the train depot, before the railroads abandoned train service, tore down the depot & yanked the tracks out.

Several years ago, here in Burlington, Iowa, they started to have a lighted Christmas parade on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. It's been a huge success, especially, as this year, when it was unseasonably mild and there was no sign of snow for Santa to pull his sleigh through. From the looks and sounds of people, it's obvious that Joseph Campbell was correct. In a series of interviews with Bill Moyers, available on tape through our local library, he talked about the need in America for myths and heroes. Maybe something as simple as a lighted Christmas parade can help.

Chilly Start to Advent

COMFORT, COMFORT YOUR PEOPLE. Many who have had a chance to sing from Handel's Messiah recognize the line, taken from the Old Testament prophet Isaiah. Detroit's automakers felt none of that comfort this week, coming before the U.S. congress for a second and third times, trying to explain why they should receive billions of dollars of taxpayer money, years after many of their community leaders in working class areas surrounding their plants have lost tax base and faith in the companies that supplied (at one time) most of the vehicles on the roads of this country and fed an economic boom. Since the early 1970's, Detroit has mainly ignored reality and played a declining market card, choosing to live in the past. With blinders on, they, collectively, ignored the future and stayed with outdated methods and materials. Congress has been a partner in this charade, refusing to force fuel economy increases over the past twenty or so years, through both Republican and Democratic controlled years. Of course, now the Congress can act innocent and slap Big Auto on the wrist. After the double whammy of high gas prices & falling home values/401K's, the American public is showing skepticism of everything. Whether new blood (pun intended) in the White House and Congress can renew Hope and Comfort remains to be seen.

To Sit At the Kids' Table

To lead or to follow, that is the question. We all, at different times and different circumstances, do both.

There's a line at the top on the right that you can click on to "follow". Nancy showed the lead by doing these blogs and getting me interested.

Some of you may remember a poem I wrote several years ago with the title of this entry. Most people have memories of family dinners, often either Thanksgiving or Christmas, when the kids would sit at a separate table than the adults. That's what the poem was about, a desire to go back to the simpler times before the responsibilities of adulthood set on. Many of us, including me, no longer have either parent living, and the great host of aunts, uncles, grandparents and sometimes cousins or siblings may be diminishing. If we have been blessed, as I have, with others to fill in the spots around the table, each passing may be viewed with a more even mind. When we also have spiritual guidance and comfort we can view it philosophically.

Gather ye rosebuds while ye may. Each of us has only so much time to make a difference here before we move on, too. May you do your best to make it a positive influence.