US Christian Leaders and China's Persecuted Church

The link below will take you to an article I found very disturbing.

Are U.S. Christian Leaders Too Quiet About China's Persecuted?

Here's a small quote:

International Christian Concern (ICC) recently met with three leading Chinese Christian human rights activists who reported that the persecuted Church [in China] is facing increased persecution. The church there is desperate for vocal support from U.S.-based churches and denominations.

Ten Lies Men Believe

I have given away many copies of J. Lee Grady's book, "Ten Lies the Church Tells Women." Sadly, but not surprisingly, you will probably not find it in a
"Christian book store." You can find it online. Here's a link it on Amazon. If you scroll down you can even get a deal by purchasing it with two other excellent books, "What Paul Really Said About Women" and "Why Not Women."

Now, at last, the companion volume, "Ten Lies Men Believe" is here! I suspect I may need to order extra copies of this one as well.

Here is a small quote from the book:

"There’s a little bit of Cain in all of us: It’s why men hide behind their careers; it’s why men go to bars at ‘happy hour’; it’s even why some Christian men put on their spiritual bodysuits and act the part of a man of God when they are actually trembling with fear on the inside, afraid that someone will discover they aren’t the perfect husbands, fathers and employees they pretend to be.”

Thank you, Lee, for your extraordinary efforts on behalf of women in the church, women in leadership, women in bondage of various kinds around the world.

Here is the link to Amazon. I'm ordering mine today.

If you'd like to know more about Lee, here is a link to The Mordecai Project.

An Egyptian Christian Woman's Point of View

The following is an except from Lee Grady's "Fire in My Bones" column.

A prayerful minister says her country is passing through a “spiritual birth canal”
My Egyptian friend Nadia*...is praying—and asking the Christian community in the United States to join her.

“For the church in Egypt, it feels like we are going through a spiritual birth canal,” Nadia told me in an interview this week. That birthing process is precarious. The uprising that began on Jan. 25 is a response to years of political and economic oppression. Yet at the same time Islamic fundamentalists are angling for control—and they could turn Egypt into a radical Muslim state like Iran....a foothold to eventually take over the country,” Nadia says.

The Christian community in Egypt is divided over how to respond to the current crisis. Some are simply hoping for a return to calm. Others welcome the change. Some even say the church may have to go through a season of difficulty—perhaps even a wave of persecution...“I never would have thought two weeks ago that my country would be turned upside down like this,” Nadia says. “But I am praying, ‘Lord, use this to establish Your sovereign will.’”

Islamic fundamentalism has been on the rise in Egypt for decades. Christians often are denied jobs and promotions. Outside of churches, public assembly of Christians is rarely allowed. All ministry directed toward Muslims is illegal, and Muslim converts to Christianity are not allowed to change their religion on their national ID cards.

Yet last weekend, during the street demonstrations in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, a hint of religious freedom was in the air. On Feb. 6, a large group of Christians from various churches sang and chanted “Bless my nation!” while an Egyptian preacher told the crowd that Jesus Christ—Issa the son of Mary, as he is known to Muslims—defends justice and cares for the poor.

A few days earlier, in the same square, a group of Christians encircled some Muslims who were praying, locked arms and formed a human shield to show the world that Christians would defend their Muslim friends as they assembled to worship. [Pictured above.] More than 320,000 people have viewed that scene since a participant in the demonstration posted a photo of it on Twitter.

Nadia says most Egyptians—including a majority of Muslims—were horrified on New Year’s Eve when Islamists blew up a church in Alexandria, killing 25 people. “It shook the nation,” Nadia says. “People could not believe this was happening. It laid the ground for some unity.”

Nadia, who is involved in ministry in Egypt, remembers walking around her city when she was a young adult. Back then, it was rare to see a woman wearing the Islamic veil. But today, she reports that as many as 85 percent of women are covered in hijabs (veils covering all but a woman’s face and hands) while some don the more conservative niqabs (full black tents that only allow a woman’s eyes to be seen).

The heavy fabric is a visible manifestation of the shift toward Islamic fundamentalism that has occurred in Egypt since the 1980s. It also symbolizes the retreat of women to more traditional and less visible roles. However, the uprising of Jan. 25 has brought many women out to the streets to call for freedom.

Regardless of what happens in the next few months, Nadia is holding tightly to a prophecy from Isaiah that many Egyptian Christians have memorized.

Isaiah 19:21-22 says: “Thus the Lord will make Himself known to Egypt, and the Egyptians will know the Lord in that day. They will even worship with sacrifice and offering, and will make a vow to the Lord and perform it. The Lord will strike Egypt, striking but healing; so they will return to the Lord, and He will respond to them and will heal them. (NASB)”

“I know we will see the glory of the Lord cover Egypt,” Nadia says confidently. “An altar for the Lord will be established in our land.”

* Nadia’s name was changed to protect her and her family.

A Loving Friday Five

I John 4:7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.

It is my turn to post the RevGal Friday Five. In two days my husband and I will have been married (ulp!) forty years. And, of course, Valentine's Day is coming soon so I'm thinking about love. So for today's everyone is asked to tell us about five people you love, people who will remain in your "heart" forever. This can be a friend, teacher, family member, mentor, pastor...

This is difficult, because my mind is sorting through dozens of wonderful people. I'll just pick the first five that come to mind as I type.

1. Mary Newbill. Mary was my Sunday School teacher when I was very small. Preschool, I think, or not much older. So more than fifty years later I can still see her tall, spare frame, her salt and pepper hair, her makeup-free but kind face, always with an expression of love and kindness. I was, in those days, not very well. I was also cross-eyed and nearly blind, and quite "pigeon toed." Pictures of me from the time show a pretty little girl, with thick dark hair, but...it is hard to be pretty with obvious problems, you know? I was a shy child, mostly because I couldn't see, I think. Anyway, I was already aware that not everyone was comfortable with me, though I did not understand why. Not so, Mary Newbill. When Mary looked at me she saw me. She made a point to talk with me, to greet me every Sunday, to send me little cards in the mail, to tell me how much Jesus loved me and what a lovely person I was. I believed her when she said Jesus loved me, because she obviously did. I will be sure to thank her when I see her on the other side.

2. My husband. We got married young. I was 20 and he was 19, and when I look at wedding pictures I shake my head--such babes in the woods we were! Our lives were planned to be very different than what they have turned out to be. He was going to be a career Marine. I was going to be the best little homemaker ever. We were, of course, going to live in California if we weren't stationed elsewhere. We did spend nine years in the Corps, but other than that--nothing has been what we expected. Except we are still in love, still putting up with each other, still kissing each other good night without fail...I love you, Ken!

3. Rosa Mae Wead. I don't know if I can exactly say I "love" her--except in a general sense. We were not close, though I wish we could have been. "Sister Wead" was the wife of Roy Wead, president of Trinity Bible College years ago. I was struggling with an increased sense of God's call in my life, struggling to believe that it was true that women could preach and teach and lead God's people. I was reading books and studying--but Rosa Mae Wead was the individual God used to show me, in a living form, what a strong, capable, gifted woman could do. She mentored me from afar. She was never arrogant, very classy and ladylike (maybe I thought all women preachers would be masculine), a loving wife and mother as well as a minister of the Word. She was dying of cancer when I took her "Women in Ministry" class. She was able to teach only a few classes of the course, as she grew rapidly worse. But it was enough. She walked in the power of the Holy Spirit like no one else I've ever known. One day she asked the class members why we were there. Many said they wanted to be good pastor's wives, etc. She grew visibly disturbed as woman after woman spoke of their "husband's ministry." Finally, she slammed her hands on the desk and said, LOUDLY, "Stop! Aren't ANY of you women called to PREACH?" She was staring (and pointing) directly at me. It was a life-changing moment. Another woman I'll thank when I reach eternity.

4. Of course, Trinity, our grandchild. Yes, all the sappy stuff you hear about being a grandparent is true. And she is beautiful, sweet, and brilliant. :-) But she is extra-special to me because of how and when she arrived. We did not think we would be grandparents, ever (long and painful story). We had endured a couple of years of profound sadness and loss and questions--and then our daughter announced that a baby was on the way--we were full of joy! And she has been the proverbial "ray of sunshine" ever since, restoring things in our hearts that were dormant, helping us smile on tough days, giving us hope for the future.

5. My mother. We had a difficult relationship. I loved her deeply when I was small, thinking she was the best mom in the world, right about everything, and I wanted to be just like her. As I grew older her significant dysfunction (another long and painful story) became increasingly evident. Life at our house was not happy, always unstable, and extremely confusing. She was, I knew, a wonderful warm-hearted, woman who passionately loved God and longed to be of service. She was also a recluse, deluded, sometimes cruel. She ignored me much of the time. The two sides didn't match. In her old age she came to live with us. It was a wonderful, difficult, lovely, bittersweet challenge--and sometimes a joy. I know she probably couldn't help her behavior. And now that she is gone I remember the woman she longed to be and usually was, at least at the end of her life. She blessed many people. I miss her very much. Someday we will talk and we will, finally, make sense of it all.

How about you?

So, What Are You Doing These Days?

I had a couple of conversations recently that have me back to being more focused about where and how I should spend my remaining decade (I'm optimistic) of working life. I'm still not sure. (Not that I ever intend to just sit in a rocker.)

"What are you doing these days?" Many people still ask me that question. Some still are surprised to hear that I am no longer the pastor at the church where I spent ten years, and it has been nearly two years since I left. I had an idea or two about what might happen to me next. I did not share it on the blog--too personal--but I did share it with a few people. So far, it has not. Could it still? Yes, but it seems less and less likely. I did feel strongly about writing, and so I started doing that in earnest.

Meanwhile, Ken and I returned to the church we formerly attended. We know people there. It has been our "home church" so to speak, for many years. It is a good place, and we love Pastor Rich and Pastor Sharon. I was surprised to find that it was difficult.

Oh, I knew there would be some adjustments to make, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. I just had no idea just how profound those would be. A few months ago I turned a corner. How did I know? I didn't cry in church. Oh, I don't mean I was ever boo hooing. And I'm a Pentecostal, so tears in church are acceptable. :-) It was just silent tears, or a lump in my throat and watery eyes. That sort of thing. This went on for a long time--then suddenly it didn't happen, and since then any teary-eyed occurrences have been entirely because of good things. However, I continue to feel that I am not "settled."

A while back I started teaching Sunday School. I love to teach, and teaching the Bible is just extra good, so that was fine. I enjoy our class interactions. But something is not quite right, and I can't say why. I had an idea recently, and wondering if perhaps I should share it with Pastor Rich. Not sure, and I'm surprised at what it is...but God's ways always have been strange, at least in MY life!

Meanwhile, something else has been happening. I preached a sermon a few months back (about Peter). If you know me on Facebook you might have seen my status update about that. It was not a profound sermon, or one I would say was one of my "best" ones, but once again God's ideas are probably a great deal different than mine, because today someone mentioned again how much that sermon blessed them. As a preacher, I am thrilled if someone remembers what I preached about a day or two later--a few months? Wow! About 10 or 12 people have talked to me about that sermon. And the other thing was, it felt good to be up front and leading the service. It felt right.

When I first left my church, it was difficult financially as well. It looked, at one point, like we might lose our home. We prayed a lot. Anonymous people blessed us with money here and there. Life went on and provision came. I started working at a financial firm. It is a good place with good people doing good work. (There is a link in my blog sidebar.) I have a nice office. I have learned a great deal that has been good to learn. I still have ideas of things I'd like to accomplish there.

Perhaps I will just keep on as I am now. Perhaps I will keep working at Veritas, teaching at Christian Life AG, writing, and so on. Perhaps that is as it should be. Or perhaps change is coming. Or perhaps it is just the weather and I'll feel differently next week! Or perhaps I am getting ready for something. We shall see.

Fave Verses Fridy Five

I'll try to get back to this little blog for more than the occasional Friday Five. Meanwhile...

Songbird says this today, "For today's Friday Five, list your five favorite passages/verses from the Bible and tell us something about why you love them." I have so many--hard to pick just five!

1. Phillipiand 3:19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

My mother shared this verse with me, when I was about eight years old and struggling with an issue related to my low vision. She told me about how I was born sooner than I should have been, some of what resulted, and some of her concerns with the little baby that was me. Then she told me about the morning she prayed for me and believed God gave her this verse as assurance that I was in bigger hands than hers. The conversation stayed with me, making quite an impression. God's supply of riches is much greater than I can imagine!

2. II Timothy 3:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.


I memorized this verse (King James Version, of course) in Jr. High.

Here it is in the New Living Translation. Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth.


I attended a Baptist school from grade 7-12, and seventh graders took a "Bible" class one day a week. Our teacher chalked this one up on the board as one of our weekly memory verses. I didn't know it when I was 13, but this scripture was to become a guide to me for much of my life. I was amazed that God was pleased with my study. I had a deep desire to please God, and even though I now understand that my views were rather heavy on law and light on grace, the desire was genuine. The scripture sank in. It's why today, nearly half a century later, I deplore the lack of study that I see in the church, the lack of learning to think about scripture, to take that "rightly dividing" part seriously. We evangelical charismatic types are too fond of our superstars, of sound bites, of nice-sounding positive phrases. God is not pleased with sloppy exegesis....oh okay. I'll get off my soapbox now.

3. Psalm 91:1-4 Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. 2 This I declare about the Lord: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him. 3 For he will rescue you from every trap and protect you from deadly disease. 4 He will cover you with his feathers. He will shelter you with his wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection.

As a young wife and mother I spent a horrid December night in fear that my beloved husband was going to die. It was unusually cold, a bitter -25 or so outside, and the wind howled and the snow blew, matching my mood. Ken was seriously ill in the hospital. I was at home with the children and it was the wee hours of the morning. I sat upright in bed, sleepless and terrified, trying to pray, crying, trying to tell myself I was being silly...trying to get sleepy. I pulled out my Bible and read the 91st Psalm again and again. The powerful comfort of these verses were what got me through the night and helped me begin to experience some peace.

4. Psalm 150


5. Gal.3:28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

I once remember thinking, "When did they put THAT in the Bible?" A life-changing verse for me. I have to head out the door, so I can't explain why, but I suspect you already have a good idea.

Time to Get Up and Play the Friday Five

Where I am it is dark, and it is cold, and it is snowing. I really wanted to stay in bed with the electric blanket cranked this morning. Share five things that made getting out of bed worthwhile for you today!

1. The cat. I don't know if she exactly makes it "worthwhile" but about 6:00 a.m. she starts hurling herself at the bedroom door as if the house is on fire. She is a very quiet cat, most times, but in the a.m. (if the door walloping fails) she meooooows and yowls in the most pitiful manner imaginable. If I didn't know better, I'd think she was dying. I can only stand it so long, and then I must get up. It's a great motivator, all things considered.

2. The coffee. Brother-in-law Kevin usually is up well before the sunrise. He is a coffee fiend, so he usually has the second pot brewing by the time I pry my eyes open and finish feeding the cat. Sometimes, now that he knows I am not a morning person, he even pours my cup of coffee while I am feeding the cat, bless his heart.

3. Someone has to turn the thermostat up around here, or we'd all freeze and they would find us about April. Husband Ken would be happy to leave it at fifty degrees year round, but...did I say it is COLD and snowing here?

4. If it is a tough morning, I recall the words of Gospel singer, Lillie Knauls, who sang at my husband's ordination service years ago. She says that each morning she throws the covers back and asks (loudly and with enthusiasm), "What exciting thing do you have in store for me today, Lord Jesus?" Lilie is single. She can get away with that happy crowing in the a.m. Me, not so much. I recall the words. I don't say them aloud, and I never throw the covers back unless I'm late, but I THINK them, and often that is enough to help me get moving with a good attitude. I mean, seriously, each day of life is a gift to be treasured.

5. This doesn't happen every day, but often enough. Ken doesn't like to cook unless it is over a camp fire...or is BREAKFAST. He really makes the most delicious omelets, full of onions and peppers and olives and cheese and who knows what else. Smelling his breakfast offering, along with the coffee, makes getting up seem like a very good thing to do. Even when it id snowing and the floors are like ice and I didn't get enough sleep. Bacon...gotta love it.

How about you?

Tom Brokaw on a Return to Civility

And here I thought having my feet firmly planted in the middle of the road was a dangerous place to be. Turns out I may be just the kind of person we need in this country. Newsman Tom Brokaw thinks so.

Is it possible for the two sides of the aisle, Republicans and Democrats alike, to find common ground? If not, all of us in this country will be the poorer for it.

I recently read a Facebook comment from a liberal who attended a rally for our new Republican governor. It said, "It was scary even standing close to those people."
Those people could easily have included my husband and many of our friends. He is not a wild-eyed whacko. He is pretty conservative (more than me, to tell you the truth), but also a reasonable and caring individual.

And then I received yet another ____________ (expletive deleted) email that claimed Obama is the Anti Christ.

It is not possible for us to move ahead if that sort of nonsense, from both sides, continues. Can we start a movement for a return to civility and moderation and plain old good manners? Can we start with parents requiring these things from their children? (Yes, I guess that is a whole different issue, but I do think it's part of the problem.) Can we just think things through and not regurgitate sound bites?

Well, here's Tom Brokaw on the Today Show if you re interested.

Trinity is Four Years Old Today

Some of you may remember some of these pictures...

Just a few seconds into the world!

Four Generations

About to have the joy of dedicating her to the Lord

Bedtime

Two Halloween Fairies

How Does This Thing Work?

And Trinity Today!

What a joy and blessing this little one has been to her Papa and me! Four years ago today I was driving to the Twin Cities as fast as possible. Mommy was in labor for a while, but didn't go to the hospital quite as soon as she should have...and T. came into the world before Dr. arrived. Very exciting!

She is turning into a lovely little girl, very talkative (wonder where she got that from?), very polite, a lover of music and words (wonder where she got that from?) and seems to be good at numbers too. Today she is at our house while Mommy makes some changes to turn her room into something for "a big girl" but there's a sledding B'day party tomorrow with several of her friends. There must be some advantage to having a January birthday and living in Wisconsin! Oh yeah...snow! And a snowman birthday cake. And sledding. Yep.

A Friday Five for the New Year

I'm hosting the Friday Five today over at Rev Gal Blog Pals. I'm not a big fan of New Year's resolutions, but it does seem a good time for some reflection and planning. For the last few days I keep thinking of Psalm 90:12 So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. Among other things, that seems to say that reflection is in order if we want to learn and grow.

For some of us, this has been an incredibly difficult year; for others it has been a year of many joys. For all of us, there have been challenges and questions and there have been blessings and--maybe even an answer or two! As we say our goodbyes to 2010 and look towards 2011, share with us five blessings from 2010 along with five hopes or dreams for 2011.

1. All of us were relatively healthy in 2010. Since I live with two people who have daily struggles with chronic disease, this is a blessing! I hope and pray for continued blessings of health for my family. Boring answer, but the first one that comes to mind!

2. I am blessed to have my daughter's family nearby. When I married, it wasn't long before I moved to the opposite coast, and then it was moving hither and yon for a long time. We never lived near our families--I know, I know--this can be a blessing. But in our case, there was a void. I was sad that our children never knew what an extended family could be like, because we saw family very seldom. It is a great joy to be able to drop in for coffee, to see our beautiful granddaughter, Trinity, on a regular basis, to know our son-in-law. It has been a difficult year for them financially and we all are unsure what our futures hold when it comes to employment, ministry, etc. but whatever comes, I hope it comes in such a way that we don't live far apart!

3. I finally started writing in earnest. Not just talking about it, actually doing it. The bad part is that I have been unable to focus much on it, especially lately. So I hope to do better about taking this endeavor seriously in 2011.

4. I was blessed to be employed. So many people in our area are really struggling financially. I know what a good thing it has been to work, to have a place to go, to contribute something worthwhile, to meet people I would not have met otherwise. My deep longing is clearer direction about whether I should continue to hope and look for ministry opportunities--or whether I should just seek to be content as I am. This has been a deep struggle for me this past year, and I want to have a right attitude about it all.

5. I am deeply grateful for continued blessings that, once upon a time, were doubtful. These are many, but a few are: vision, my husband and family, a house, friends, thoughts, songs, dreams. For the New Year I want to be more mindful of these things, to make each day, each moment, count. I have so much...thanks be to God!

Prison Christmas 2010

I've written before about our prison Christmas services. If you are interested, just click on the prison link below and you can see more about visits there.

This year, Father Joe was there, as usual, to do the Catholic Mass. I sat in the back to listen, as I usually do, to some of the Catholic service. He has a wonderful voice and it was enjoyable listening to the scriptures from Isaiah. I was cheered by the enthusiasm of one of the inmates who sat near the front and gave the usual responses during the liturgy with great enthusasm. His joy might have surprised some of my Evangelical bretheren who assume that memorized responses are necessarily devoid of feeling. Sometimes, no doubut--but not always. At one point Father Joe told the assembled inmates, "I keep coming here every year because it is the highlight of my Christmas." Father Joe is 71 and tends to a very large parish not far away. He looked tired.

The Christmas decor at the prison chapel was relatively tasteful this year. (Such is not always the case--some who have read here before may recall my writing about how one year the drum kit on the platform was festooned with flashing strings of lights.) Men arrived dressed in the usual ugly greenish brown t shirts, some in grey sweatshirts, drab green baggy pants, green coats with the initials of the prison stenciled on the back. No "gay apparel" here.

Some sport long beards and long stringy hair. Some have neat cornrows in their hair. There is the young-looking, smiling black man who told me recently he will be getting out soon. I was surprised to hear he has children. He seems too young for that. He'll be in a halfway house for six months instead of going home. He's grateful for that because he is afraid to "lose focus and slip back." There is a stooped old man, bald, wrinkled, and watched out for by many of the others. I don't know why he's here but I think he's been "inside" for a long time. He has a gentle manner and handshake. Every time I see him I wonder if there is anyone left who hopes for him to come home. There is the skillful guitar player, the singer, the smiling Hispanic guy. Some seem somber but many are smiling broadly and the handshakes and thanks for "sharing your Christmas Day here with us," are real.

Ken preached a sermon that included the story of the man and the birds. The late Paul Harvey didn't know who wrote it, but he shared it every year at Christmas. Here it is:

The Man and the Birds

The man to whom I'm going to introduce you was not a Scrooge. He was a kind decent, mostly good man. Generous to his family, upright in his dealings with other men. But he just didn't believe all that incarnation stuff which the churches proclaim at Christmas Time. It just didn't make sense and he was too honest to pretend otherwise. He just couldn't swallow the Jesus Story, about God coming to Earth as a man. "I'm truly sorry to distress you," he told his wife, "but I'm not going with you to church this Christmas Eve." He said he'd feel like a hypocrite. That he'd much rather just stay at home, but that he would wait up for them.
And so he stayed and they went to the midnight service.

Shortly after the family drove away in the car, snow began to fall. He went to the window to watch the flurries getting heavier and heavier and then went back to his fireside chair and began to read his newspaper.

Minutes later he was startled by a thudding sound...then another, and then another. Sort of a thump or a thud...At first he thought someone must be throwing snowballs against his living room window, but when he went to the front door to investigate he found a flock of birds huddled miserably in the snow. They'd been caught in the storm and, in a desperate search for shelter, had tried to fly through his large landscape window.

Well, he couldn't let the poor creatures lie there and freeze, so he remembered the barn where his children stabled their pony. That would provide a warm shelter, if he could direct the birds to it. Quickly he put on a coat, galoshes, tramped through the deepening snow to the barn. He opened the doors wide and turned on a light, but the birds did not come in.

He figured food would entice them in. So he hurried back to the house, fetched bread crumbs, sprinkled them on the snow, making a trail to the yellow-lighted, wide open doorway of the stable. But to his dismay, the birds ignored the bread crumbs, and continued to flap around helplessly in the snow.

He tried catching them. He tried shooing them into the barn by walking around them waving his arms. Instead, they scattered in every direction--except into the warm, lighted barn.

And then, he realized that they were afraid of him.

"To them," he reasoned, "I am a strange and terrifying creature. If only I could think of some way to let them know that they can trust me. That I am not trying to hurt them, but to help them. But how?"

Any move he made tended to frighten them, confuse them. They just would not follow. They would not be led or shooed because they feared him. "If only I could be a bird," he thought to himself, "and mingle with them and speak their language. Then I could tell them not to be afraid. Then I could show them the way to the safe, warm...to the safe warm barn. But I would have to be one of them so they could see, and hear and understand."

At that moment the church bells began to ring. The sound reached his ears above the sounds of the wind. And he stood there listening to the bells -- listening to the bells pealing the glad tidings of Christmas. And he sank to his knees in the snow.

The choir sang a medley of Christmas songs and I led the men in a couple more carols. Nothing extraordinary this year, but I found myself wondering why it was that for me, like Father Joe, going to prison is a highlight of Christmas.

I think I finally understand why. There are no crazy schedules to keep, no shopping, no gift giving or receiving, no commercials, no Santa, not much of anything except a rather dingy chapel, Christmas songs, scripture--and the "least of these." For many inmates there is no reason to celebrate and they spend the day in bed. The prison chapel, however, is joyful, peaceful, and bright in an unhappy, negative and dark place. It is Christmas, stripped bare of the trappings and exposed in all its stark, spare, difficult, grace-filled wonder. "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us."

Christmas 2010

This year I was acutely aware of Christmas past. I remembered good and bad childhood holidays, the year Ken was in the hospital, the year we had to move (in a show storm) right before Christmas, the year we took the kids to an almost empty hotel (all those Christmas decorations just for us). I missed my mother and my sister and my brother-in-law Larry, and others. I thought of many loved ones who are no longer on this earth. I guess it's a sign I'm getting old.

I am very grateful this year that we had both our children with us. We don't get to see Josh much, and we all wish that when we do see him it was for a longer time--still we weren't sure he was going to be able to make it at all and he did. We had fun.

The snow is deep this year, and it was almost story-like to arrive at Kris and Daryl's little farm in the country (looking like a Christmas card!), nice to have Trinity welcome us joyfully, "Merry Christmas everyone! Hurry, come in!"

Trinity, the Greeter of the DayKris and Me With Breads

The warm kitchen was inviting, the table set with Christmas red and white. We enjoyed three kinds of special bread, and sipped our coffee as Trinity and Kris distributed gifts. Trinity made gift giving and receiving all the more delightful--she was so sweet, thanking us all for her presents, and happily telling us what she bought us before we could open the package. Later we had brunch and then Ken and I dashed off to prison as Josh and Trinity went out to make snow angels.

Kevin

Today Ken and Kevin and Kris and Trinity and I went to see "Voyage of the Dawn Treader" (one of the Narnia films--by far they best). I got the Senior Citizen discount. Not sure how to feel about that. Now I'm looking forward to a week off.

I am acutely,sometimes uncomfortably aware, how quickly things can change. I wonder what will happen this year. Kevin's kidneys are not functioning well (yet another complication of diabetes combined with other things) and so he's going to see a specialist in a couple of weeks. We all know, however, that a long and healthy life is not in his future. I know he's a little scared. It is a matter of when and what...but today he said, "It sure has been a delightful couple of days hasn't it?" And yes, it has.

I am thankful for a year when many of those I love most were nearby. I know it will not always be so.

Blogging Through 2010

This was interesting last year, so decided to do it again. The idea is to go back through 2010 and post the first sentence that I blogged each month. I eliminated the Friday Fives, and the Finding Little Big Foot Chapters, and here is what I got:

January: I've been looking at a few pictures from Haiti this morning, and I listened to a NPR report from a woman working there with World Vision.

February: Thirty nine years ago today, I walked down the aisle at the Rosewood Wedding Chapel in Burbank, California.

March: Every Tuesday I drive to the prison where my husband, Ken, is chaplain.

April: I suspect Fred Phelps is in for a big shock one of these days...

May: The 59th Annual National Day of Prayer is today.

June: Last weekend we were reenacting at the season's first "Rendezvous" camp, and Trinity came along.

July: If you look in my sidebar you will see 17 posts under the heading "Egalitarian Marriage" and 33 under "The Gender Debate."

August: Last night I watched the National Geographic channel's decomentary Witness: Katrina.

September: The kitchen/fellowship area of our church [set for "dinner with the carnys"] smelled wonderful last night.

October: October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

November: Yesterday I went shopping (and I'm not a person who loves to shop).

December: On the night presbyters laid their hands on my shoulders and prayed, the night I was "officially" a minister, something happened.

Christmas Past Friday Five

For today's Friday Five over at RevGalBlogPals, Jan asks us to share five Christmas memories. I have been remembering many things, and I'd love to share all happy memories, but (let's face it) sometimes Christmas can be difficult. So my memories are a mix, just like this time of year often is. These are the first five memories that came to mind.

1. Our family lived in Los Angeles, CA and the relatives lived in a small Texas town. We sometimes travelled there for Christmas. Money was never abundant, so it wasn't often that this happened. It was always a very exciting time for us to make the trip, and the arrival at our grandfather's lovely red brick home was so exciting--especially if we actually got snow. It was a big, warm, loving family with lots of aunts and uncles and cousins, and on Christmas Eve everyone gathered together at the big house in town. One year my cousin, Grady, and I went out to some woods somewhere or other and gathered a bunch of mistletoe. We had lots of fun plotting and giggling and putting it up in various doorways and interesting spots, but we thought we were being so smart and sneaky to hang a sprig of it on the ceiling above Papa's recliner. Of course, when our grandfather arrived home he acted very surprised and confused as to why everyone was kissing him. I, being about 8 or 9, really thought we had fooled him. My happiest Christmas memories are of various doings with the family in Texas.

2. My father, who had always been a very healthy and vibrant person, was in a coma from an aneurysm. It was Christmas time. My sister, Paulette, arrived from Indiana. I arrived from Wisconsin. Darlaine, our eldest sis, already lived in California, and it had been a long time since the three of us had been together. It was good, in a strange way, to be there together. It was a long, difficult week, first at a small hospital in Hemet and later at a large one in La Jolla. The hospital was decked out for the season (and La Jolla is a wealthy area so it was all beautiful). Christmas carols were playing, the rest of the family were elsewhere, and Paulette and I were mostly struggling to hold back tears. We left the ICU area and went for a walk around the hospital's main floor and lobby. On the walls were oil paintings of many wealthy benefactors of Scripp's Medical Center. We looked at each one and tried to imagine what it was like to be them. We got to giggling nearly hysterically, and Paulette made some very rude comments about the various people depicted on the walls. Such a silly thing, but a very vivid memory of finding something to laugh about, walking hand in hand at the hospital and waiting to hear if our dad was going to live or die. (He passed away on Dec. 20th.)

3. One Christmas when I was a child I was snooping for presents. I found a Betty Crocker bake set on my parents' closet shelf. Excited, because I'd been longing for one, I showed Paulette. She scoffed, saying, "That's just an empty box. Daddy has been gathering empty boxes to put stuff in to wrap. You can't tell by the box, silly." I was not convinced, so somehow she got me out of the closet and into the kitchen, and a few minutes later she showed up with the box, saying to our mother, "She thinks this is her present." She opened the lid, announcing, "See, nothing in there." Only thing was, she had emptied the entire box of its contents, little boxes of various mixes and tiny spoons, measuring cups and so on...but she had forgotten one thing. I can still see it, my sister standing there being a smarty and throwing off the lid and...oops! One red mixing bowl still in the box. Ha! She had already convinced me, but that mixing bowl had me wondering all the way up to Christmas.

4. Then there was the Christmas that my mom (a lovely person, but one with some serious spiritual/emotional/mental issues that often made our family life difficult if not outright bizarre) spent the entire season secluded in her room. I decorated the tree, wrapped the presents, decorated the house as best I could....not a happy time. She did come out for a short while to open presents. My husband-to-be (though I did not know it yet) was there. My mother, poor thing, was so anxious to return to her seclusion that she all but flung the presents at us in her hurry. Ken was trying hard to pretend not to notice that something was very strange. I was trying not to cry. My dad was seething with barely-contained frustration and fury. The evening ended with Ken leaving early, and me listening to an all-too familiar argument from my parents' room. I covered my head with my pillow and cried, knowing life as I knew it was disintegrating and wondering where God was. I was about to enter a pretty confused period of life when I wondered if anything I believed was true. Not a happy memory, but I can say that through it all I know (now) that God was at work. God's faithfulness transcends the frailty of humanity. I am very grateful for that!

5. The first year with Trinity was such fun...a laughing little baby who was entranced with the lights. And last year with little Trinity was so enjoyable. She was not quite three, and she had so much fun that it would have been impossible not to laugh and enjoy the day (not that it wasn't quite nice to be with each other!). She welcomed us at her front door with a flourish (she is quite dramatic) and escorted us to the tree. Having a little kid around, once again, at Christmas was so delightful. This year she is very excited to be in her first Christmas program ever! Praise God for children!

Christmas Thoughts on a Cold Morning

The view outside is white. And more white. The temperature is hovering around zero degrees F. We do have hopes that it is going to warm up to the 20s today, but for now it feels good to be sipping coffee, still in my flannel pajamas, and contemplating a day off in which I'm going to do some baking.


It has been a strange kind of Christmas season. Not a bad one, all things considered. More about that in a future post --but just different.

Last year I think I was just enjoying the freedom that not being a pastor brought me during the holidays, but I realized this year just how much of my Christmas focus was formerly determined by things pastors do.

I have always thought of Christmas in two rather distinct ways. I mean, the shopping, cookies or other baking, even the pleasure of lights and snowy landscapes are not really connected to thoughts of Jesus Christ and his birth. That doesn't mean that can't be very enjoyable, but the other part of Christmas, the part where I spend time in contemplation of spiritual things is a different thing altogethe, and it seems difficult this year.

Other years it happened as part of preparing for the season. At church, the month before Christmas Day was devoted to themes related to Jesus' birth and the events around it. I always tried to make Advent services coordinated--liturgical church traditions are better at this than we Evangelical types--but I worked hard at making the music, scripture readings, other special things like a poem or worship dance or drama, blend with the sermon so that the whole service led us together in a particular direction.

A few years ago I wrote (with help from my daughter) a daily devotional booklet, "Christmas at the Oasis" which spanned the time from the beginning of Advent through the week after New Years. I posted those here as well. We had to be finished with the whole thing in plenty of time to get it to the printer and distributed for the first Sunday in Advent. It was a wonderful spiritual exercise. I don't know how meaningful it was for those in my congregation or others who received the booklet, but it was good for me to plan it, write it, and find the artwork that went with the devotion for the day!

I'm realizing that it is almost Christmas and I am missing the focus of time spent thinking, writing, planning and so on. I don't know what next year will bring, but I have decided I must be a lot more "on purpose" about planning my holidays to include some sort of spiritual discipline.

How about you? Is it a season of peace, joy, hope and love...or is it something else this year? Do you have any special habits or practices that help bring the important things into focus?

Please Pray With Me for "Questing Parson"

Some of you may know my long-time blogger friend and colleague, Questing Parson. His wife recently had surgery and last night she passed away from related issues. Here is Parson's trubute to her. Would you say a prayer for him today?

Jingle Bell Rock Friday Five

RevGalBlogPal friend, Mary Beth, posted the Friday Five today.

For today's Friday Five: What lifts you up when you are low or troubled? Who helps you remember that you are not alone, it's getting better all the time, etc.? Your five responses can be people you know, people you DON'T know, music, places, foods, scripture, surprises, something you do for someone else. It could be a pair of slippers. It could be a glass of water. Bonus: Do you like the song "Jingle Bell Rock?" If you do, who do you prefer to hear sing it? Bobby Helms, Brenda Lee, Mean Girls, Stephanie Smith, Chubby Checker, Billy Gilman, Brian Setzer, Hilary Duff, Thousand Foot Krutch (I am not making this up), oh, there are so many more! I am currently partial to my friend Marco.

Wow! Okay, I'll take the bonus first. I do like the song Jingle Bell Rock because it reminds me of my two sisters wearing bobby sox, black and white oxfords and poodle skirts with lots of crinoline petticoats beneath. And of course this means I like the Brenda Lee version. It's a dumb song, of course, so why have so many people sung it? Dumb but cherry. Maybe that's the secret.

On to the five things that lift me up when I'm down.

1. Rest. I have finally come to realize that sometimes I am down when I am just in serious need of some down time. So a cup of tea, a book, and SOLITUDE are a key. It isn't that those things make me cheery. They just make cheeriness possible!

2. Music. Nothing cheers me up like music. What type, how loud, etc. all depend on lots of variables, but music is a necessity in my life. Sometimes, it's true, music can make me sad, lonely, or too nostalgic for my own good. Especially since I'm still grieving some multiple losses, so if the goal is to cheer myself up, I need to choose carefully. In a few minutes I'm going to put my "Straight No Chaser" Christmas CD on. They are a great vocal group (thanks to son Josh for giving me the CD a coupld of Christmases back). I'll try to find a version of their song "Christmas Can Can" to post. It always makes me laugh. Especially when they get to the Dredel pat.....and screaming Christmas carols all the way...lalalalalalala....well I found it. Here you go.




3. People. One must not hole up (see number one) for too long. People, especially the positive ones, are good for lifting our spirits.

4. Counting my blessings. Sounds sappy, eh? But it is true. Sometimes I just need to stop and reflect and say thanks to God for the good things in my life.

5. Cooking. I don't know why cooking cheers me up, but it does. Nothing like making a big mess in the kitchen to get me in a better mood!

Happy Birthday to Josh

Thirty-three years ago today, I woke in the wee hours with some definite signs that labor was underway. This was baby number two, so I figured it wouldn't be long before we would welcome our new family member into the world. A while later I was at the hospital and nothing was happening. I paced. I paced some more. Once in a while something significant would begin, but then stop. Hours later, the dreaded Pitocin drip was started. More hours went on. Something was amiss, it seemed, but an x ray showed that the baby inside was not too large, so we waited.

Then things got exciting, but not in a good way. The fetal heart beat was too slow and there were signs that the little one who was on his way was stressed. I was prepped for a C-Section. The doctor was obviously concerned and things were a bit grim. He tried to gently warn me that all was likely not well.

Ken called our church's prayer chain, and before they could get things set for the C-section, Josh entered the world. Unlike his older sister, who entered the world squalling in protest, he only cried briefly. He did manage to send a healthy stream of urine onto the doctor, who laughed and said, "Well, we know his water works are functioning fine." I'm not sure what the doctor had expected, but he was clearly happy to see this healthy child. Josh was a beautiful newborn, with brown hair and the most intense blue eyes I had ever seen. When I held him those large eyes looked up at me. They weren't cloudy, as newborn eyes often are--they were clear and focused. He seemed to be gazing intently at us.

That is how I remember my baby boy most, a beautiful child who quietly watched the world with great intensity, often awake and usually watching the world closely.

He became a shy boy with a sweet disposition, the delight of all of us and the favorite person of his big sis, who was six years older. I can picture them, Josh doing his best to keep up. They were an interesting pair, those two, opposites in many ways (and that is still true). Josh was the cautious one, the saver, the neat kid. He works at night, so the morning person we all used to know has disappeared these days, but Dad and Sis and I all vividly recall how he often woke us up by singing church songs happily in the morning. His favorites were, "I'll Fly Away" and a Pentecostal standard I am sad to say doesn't get sung much anymore, "Not By Might."

He's not shy anymore. But he still cares about people, more than he sometimes wants anyone to know, and he still has a great voice.

Happy Birthday, Josh. I'm so glad you are in the world!

Orange Nut Bread

Here is the link to the recipe.

Survival Edition Friday Five

Katheryn shared today's F.F. over at RevGalBlogPals. (The Elf collage is my grandaughter, Trinity, some time back.)

Whether a RevGal or a Pal most of us in this cyber community have enhanced responsibilities during this time of year. We also have traditions - religious and secular - that mark the season for us in a more personal way. For this Friday Five please let us know five of the things that mark the season for you.

1. The thing I miss about not being the pastor of a church during this season is the Advent wreath. Growing up Southern Baptist, and then hopping over to the Assemblies of God. I never heard of Advent. The first time I saw one I was in my late 20s. My husband was invited to speak at a series of classes at a Lutheran Church in the Washington D.C. area. It was a lovely old church building, the sort that appealed to my aesthetic lil soul. I wandered around, admiring the stained glass, pipe organ, lovely carved pews--and suspended from the ceiling over the altar area was an enormous Advent wreath of evergreen boughs and holly and large white candles. It looked so unique, Christmasy--something I had seen in pictures of European churches. I love the symbolism of the Advent wreath, the candles, readings, etc.

2. Christmas music...love it! Especially the glorious, soaring type. I LOVE Handel's "Messiah."

3. Light. The more the merrier.

4. Baking orange nut bread and Jule Kaga. The orange nut bread recipe comes from my mother, and is the most delicious nut bread imaginable. Find it over at The Owl's Kitchen. The other comes from my husband's Norwegian family. Both are musts. I so enjoy Christmas baking, especially if music is playing in the background. And, of course, it's nice to eat them as well.

5. Snow! Growing up in California where it might be 65 balmy degrees on Christmas Day, one thing I do like about Christmas in the upper Midwest is that most of the time we will have a beautiful, white Christmas. I do get very tired of snow by the time April rolls around, but I love it when the dusting of snow on everything is real snow.

And the bonus? Tell us one thing that does absolutely nothing for you.

Santa. I know, the St. Nick story is great. But Santa Claus? Not so much. Bah, humbug. (Except for when he is my sweetie.) Pics of that as soon as I can download them next week.