I must say Fr. Bob did an awesome sermon today.  It was a wonderful reminder of why Jesus came and why he shall come again.  He came to give us eternity that we may know Hope.  He came to reconcile us to God that we may know Peace.  He came to teach us to pray that we may know its power and its glory.  He came to bring God close, intimately close to us and to offer us the choice to accept and live that intimacy.  He came to bring our fellow men, women, and children close...not because they were rich or poor, different or similar, but because they possessed one uniting piece of genetic code...they were and are the children of God.  Our responsibility was and is to be the hands, feet, and voice of God ever present to all children of God.  "Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me."  [Matthew 25: 40]  Fr. Bob's lively reminder that really struck home..."Eternity begins today" and every day for that very reason.  He came that we may have life abundantly in him.  He came that we may know Love.  He came that we may walk in his footsteps and find that each day is a journey in faith and each day, we can say to ourselves...I am a child of God and eternity begins today...with me in Jesus and I in him."  I love that phrase "eternity begins today".  May I learn to live it as fully as the way it touches my soul.  May I remember to express gratitude to his glory for the opportunity to live it each day.  I live blessed.  Awesome sermon, Fr. Bob.

Dearest Father in Heaven,
Bless this child and bless this day
Of new beginnings.
Smile upon this child
And surround this child, Lord,
With the soft mantle of your love.
Teach this child to follow in your footsteps,
And to live life in the ways of
Love, faith, hope and charity.
~An Irish Blessing

Today, we celebrate in Jesus the power of One Voice.  One beautiful, glorious, remarkable voice that spent time with us as one of us.  A wonder to behold, He still unites us today, billions of people across the globe all respond to one voice...the voice of Jesus.  Still uniting, still embracing.  There is a hidden message in the birth and life of Jesus.  A treasure to remember in that one glorious voice...the message that one single voice can make a difference in this world.  If you ever pause to wonder whether or not what you may have to say is important or what you may have to share will make a difference, don't wonder.  Reflect.  Remember Jesus was and still is one voice that makes an eternity of difference.  He gently reminds us all that we have the capacity to make a difference no matter where we are, no matter what the situation, each of us has the God-given capacity to make a difference in this world.  What you share in faith will be magnified in faith.  What you give in kindness and love grows exponentially wherever it is shared.  Make a difference.  Use that one God-given voice to touch a life that will touch another and another.

Speak To Me
Fourth Stanza
The Reverend Dr. Elizabeth L. Lilly

"Ah, there you are!
Even now,
You speak---simply
In the listening for,
In the yearning after,
In the looking-deeper,
In the Being-with,
You speak."

These last few days, we're going to celebrate the power and the glory of ONE.  One blessed Savior arriving in our midst.  One miraculous event that unites us all as ONE.  As things settle down in the last few days of anticipation, we find ourselves with shopping completed, decorating completed, a few work days off, and family and friends to host.  We take a moment to breathe and remember what it is all for and all about.  One Savior.  One birth.  The One who unites us all in a spirit of giving, gratitude, and prayer.  I had time today to listen, really listen to one of my favorite songs on a Christmas album...a duet with Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli called The Prayer.  The words are powerful.  They are prayerful.  They are uniting in the Spirit of One who comes before us in glory and grants such sanctuary in our lives.  Enjoy!

The Prayer
(Carol Bayer Sager and David Foster)
Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli

I pray you'll be our eyes, and watch us where we go
And help us to be wise in times when we don't know
Let this be our prayer, that when we lose our way
Lead us to the place, guide us with your grace
To a place where we'll be safe.

I pray we'll find your light, and hold it in our hearts
When stars go out each night,
Remind us where you are
Let this be our prayer, when shadows fill our day
Help us find a place, guide us with your grace
Give us faith so we'll be safe.

A world where pain and sorrow will be ended
And every heart that's broken will be mended
And we'll remember we are all God's children
Reaching out to touch you
Reaching to the sky.

We ask that life be kind, and watch us from above
We hope each soul will find another soul to love
Let this be our prayer, just like every child
Who needs to find a place, guide us with your grace
Give us faith so we'll be safe.

I found myself at a complete loss for words yesterday, reeling from the tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut.  I found it difficult to process anything, let alone my own questions, emotions, and thoughts.  My heart is broken for the families, friends, victims, and community in Newtown.  While we are in the midst of Advent and a holiday season, God was not on holiday Friday.  God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit and a contingent of angels were very much present Friday and will remain so.  We may not be able to make sense out of Friday's events, but God can take the senseless and the painful and create goodness, hope, and transformation.  It will take time and care, mercy and compassion.  It will take God's time and our faith.   The birth of Jesus heralds the arrival of resurrection and the hope our faith grants us all.  He came, lived among us, and is here for moments like these.  Reach for his hand.  It can and does calm your heart.  Reach for his hand.  It can and does quiet your mind.  Reach for his hand and feel his peace.

Psalm 23
The Lord is my shepherd.  I shall not be in want.
He makes me to lie down in green pastures,
  he leads me beside quiet waters,
  he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness
  for his name's sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
  I will fear no evil,
  for you are with me;
  your rod and your staff,
  they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me
  in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
  my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and love will follow me
  all the days of my life,
  and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
  forever.

Today, we celebrate Faith, one of the most precious gifts of our Savior.  Faith is about complete trust, loyalty, and commitment in our relationship to God.  It is also about those very same things in our relationship to our families, friends, and even our country. Faith encompasses promise and actions that complete the integrity of a spoken word.   Jesus' birth, for example, is a promise fulfilled by God.  Jesus' sacrifice for our reconciliation with God is another extraordinary promise fulfilled by an action of faith. Faith is also a little bit about knowledge, a soul-based knowledge that our prayers are heard and answered by a loving and loyal God who shares an intimate relationship with us.  We are personal to Him.  He knows our names.  Through our prayers, we have a unique opportunity to live an active aspect of our faith and to trust in the answers that may not match our desires, but which do match what God knows we need most.  One of my favorite prayers was written by a Confederate soldier, his name unknown, but his heart and wisdom profound.  Celebrate the faith Jesus lived with a prayer and your trust in the answer...today.

A CONFEDERATE SOLDIER'S PRAYER
Author Unknown,
(Attributed to a battle weary C.S.A soldier near the end of the war)

I asked God for strength, that I might achieve;
I was made weak, that I might learn humbly to obey.
I asked for health, that I might do greater things;
I was given infirmity, that I might do better things.
I asked for riches, that I might be happy;
I was given poverty, that I might be wise.
I asked for power, that I might have the praise of men;
I was given weakness, that I might feel the need of God.
I asked for all things, that I might enjoy life;
I was given life, that I might enjoy all things.
I got nothing that I asked for, but everything I hoped for.
Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered.
I am among all men most richly blessed.

On this, the third day of Advent, we celebrate the virtue of Courage exemplified throughout the life of Jesus.  One of my favorite poems is The Race by Dee Groberg.  It reminds me of Jesus even though it is the story of a youngster involved in a race.  It reminds me of the courage of Jesus as he faced the crowd.  It reminds me because carrying a cross, he fell three times just like this child.  He, too, arose each time, driven by his faith in our Father and his love for humanity.  Courage is born of such love and we all need courage on our journeys.  We also all need to find the face of our Father in the dilemmas and crowds we face.  He's there.  Our Father is on our sideline cheering for every step we take.  Whether we are stumbling or running full stride, He is there caring intimately, supporting fully, and holding our hands and hearts.  Rendering courage with His presence, if we but listen, we can hear a gentle whisper, "come and walk [or run] with me." 

The Race

attributed to Dr. D.H. "Dee" Groberg

Whenever I start to hang my head in front of failure’s face,
    my downward fall is broken by the memory of a race.
A children’s race, young boys, young men; how I remember well,
    excitement sure, but also fear, it wasn’t hard to tell.
They all lined up so full of hope, each thought to win that race
    or tie for first, or if not that, at least take second place.
Their parents watched from off the side, each cheering for their son,
    and each boy hoped to show his folks that he would be the one.

The whistle blew and off they flew, like chariots of fire,
    to win, to be the hero there, was each young boy’s desire.
One boy in particular, whose dad was in the crowd,
    was running in the lead and thought “My dad will be so proud.”
But as he speeded down the field and crossed a shallow dip,
    the little boy who thought he’d win, lost his step and slipped.
Trying hard to catch himself, his arms flew everyplace,
    and midst the laughter of the crowd he fell flat upon his face.
As he fell, his hope fell too; he couldn’t win it now.
    Humiliated, he just wished to disappear somehow.

But as he fell his dad stood up and showed his anxious face,
    which to the boy so clearly said, “Get up and win that race!”
He quickly rose, no damage done, behind a bit that’s all,
    and ran with all his mind and might to make up for his fall.
So anxious to restore himself, to catch up and to win,
    his mind went faster than his legs. He slipped and fell again.
He wished that he had quit before with only one disgrace.
    “I’m hopeless as a runner now, I shouldn’t try to race.”

But through the laughing crowd he searched and found his father’s face
    with a steady look that said again, “Get up and win that race!”
So he jumped up to try again, ten yards behind the last.
    “If I’m to gain those yards,” he thought, “I’ve got to run real fast!”
Exceeding everything he had, he regained eight, then ten...
    but trying hard to catch the lead, he slipped and fell again.
Defeat! He lay there silently. A tear dropped from his eye.
    “There’s no sense running anymore! Three strikes I’m out! Why try?
I’ve lost, so what’s the use?” he thought. “I’ll live with my disgrace.”
    But then he thought about his dad, who soon he’d have to face.

“Get up,” an echo sounded low, “you haven’t lost at all,
    for all you have to do to win is rise each time you fall.
Get up!” the echo urged him on, “Get up and take your place!
    You were not meant for failure here! Get up and win that race!”
So, up he rose to run once more, refusing to forfeit,
    and he resolved that win or lose, at least he wouldn’t quit.
So far behind the others now, the most he’d ever been,
    still he gave it all he had and ran like he could win.
Three times he’d fallen stumbling, three times he rose again.
    Too far behind to hope to win, he still ran to the end.

They cheered another boy who crossed the line and won first place,
    head high and proud and happy -- no falling, no disgrace.
But, when the fallen youngster crossed the line, in last place,
    the crowd gave him a greater cheer for finishing the race.
And even though he came in last with head bowed low, unproud,
    you would have thought he’d won the race, to listen to the crowd.
And to his dad he sadly said, “I didn’t do so well.”
    “To me, you won,” his father said. “You rose each time you fell.”

And now when things seem dark and bleak and difficult to face,
    the memory of that little boy helps me in my own race.
For all of life is like that race, with ups and downs and all.
    And all you have to do to win is rise each time you fall.
And when depression and despair shout loudly in my face,
    another voice within me says, “Get up and win that race!”

Teaching Your Team to Fish is another best seller by Laurie Beth Jones with her unique style of writing in approaching today's organizations with the wisdom and management principles of Jesus.  It's interesting to think about.  Have you ever wondered how Jesus "managed" to acquire disciplines with multi-faceted backgrounds to leave everything they knew and completely embrace the unknown?  How did he "manage" from afar?  What principles did he give us as guides to work with any time we are working in groups or teams, regardless of the organization type?  Try a few of these on for size.

• He Excited His Team
• He Taught Community
• He Elevated the Dialogue
• He Turned Criticism into Collaboration
• He Grounded Them
• He Taught Stewardship, Not Ownership
• He Valued Diversity
• He Prepared Them for Adversity
• He Taught "Thinking Outside of the Box"
• He Practiced Restraint
• He Trained at all Levels of the Organization
• He Transformed Them
• He Turned a Pyramid into a Circle
• He Went Deep in Order to Go Wide
• He Didn't Smash the Gnat and Lose the Camel
• He Turned Everyone into a Recruiter
• He Released Their Genius
• He Kept It Simple

Those are a few of my favorite chapters, which is practically the entire book, but I found two interrelated things quite thought provoking:  1) He Kept It Simple and 2) He Sent Them Out Unencumbered.  Think about that for a minute.  What might it mean to be sent out unencumbered?  It meant life was simple and totally predicated on trust.  "They" didn't have houses or keep up with the Jones next door.  They didn't have big car payments or tall requirements for school tuition.  He sent them out unencumbered.  Their focus could then be completely on those they served in the name of God and Jesus Christ.  Their focus was not on stress, anxiety driven multi-tasking or anything like we may have chosen for ourselves in today's fast-paced society.  Their focus was on finding spiritual contentment, sharing that contentment with others, and eliminating complexity so they could better serve.  I might do well to clear my own landscape, to simplify my life, reduce my stress, and focus my energies on the wonder of the relationship I have with God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.  If I seek more intimacy in my relationship with my Father, I must make more time in my day for just that purpose.  I must learn to sit still with God in my new free moments and not hop down the multi-tasking trail in the midst of trying to establish intimacy.  I must change the way I think and simplify that first.  If I am to be a better servant, I must first learn to sit still in the presence of my God and my Savior.  I must remember how to listen at a deeply spiritual level instead of racing through my prayerful thoughts as if they were some other task in my day.  They must become the highlight of my day.  Perhaps that is the starting point to being unencumbered before God.  What would being unencumbered mean for you?