Yada Yadah

Saturday, December 14, 2013

let us slow, let us s-l-o-w, let u-s s-l-o-w

In Day 8 of The Greatest Gift, Ann Voskamp suggests that we profane Advent with fleshly performances, frantic pushing and futile preoccupations – and she shares this: “Profanity, writes Elisabeth Elliot, is “treating as meaningless that which is freighted with meaning. Treating as common that which is hallowed. Regarding as a mere triviality what is really a divine design. ...“” Tho’ Day 8 still seems timely to me, surely the fact that I’m behind is a sign, among others I’ve seen, that I should take some time to s-lo-w down so as not to miss Him in all the hustle and bustle of the holidays. And so - I’m declaring this Friday to be an official “Slow Day.” Tho’ I’m quite certain I’ll wake up feeling like I often do … that there's so much I could/would/should be doing, I’m determined to be so determined to not to do it all on that day. And instead, and assuming all goes according to plan, to CeLeBrAte by popping something simple for dinner into my slow cooker, enjoying a cyber "sabbath" of sorts, and planting myself at home sweet home in pajama pants … that being something I typically reserve for celebrating such things as official S*n.O*w Days - but that seems practically perfect for just such a time as this since I wouldn’t want to wear pajamas out in public! ; ) And .. You're invited! (No pressure tho') to my "Pajama Party." Hope you'll join me - by staying home, of course ; ) Tho’ it’s already on the fast track to becoming a new tradition, I’m so looking forward to setting aside my "could/would/should do lists" in order to celebrate my first ever official S-l-o-w Day - and all essentially in an attempt to train myself to refrain from profaning, in the mundane, that which Ann Voskamp so eloquently describes as "... the divine design of a day that unfolds with a grace that is not to be missed.” *** Genesis 28:16 (NIV) When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.”

reflecting on here & now & there & then

I gather it’s not so-o different here and now as it was there and then in the bustling town of Bethlehem. Tho' in stark contrast to all the busy-ness outside, in the stable where Jesus was born I picture the dawn of redeeming grace as ... quiet. Peaceful. Livestock lowing. Lull(aby)ing. And perhaps just a touch of sparkle so appropriately placed in the reflection of radiant beams from His holy face in His young mother's eyes. (Pause here to ponder that privilege!) And I can't help but wonder, as we proceed to prepare Him room(s) in our hearts and homes, if we were to employ a similar profoundly simple approach, appropriately focused on seeking His face, might we also then enjoy a similar privilege?

I Cornithians 4:6 (NIV) For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.

the why behind why I wish you an ImPeRfEcT Christmas

“In all Humanity’s religions, man reaches for God. But in all His relationships, God reaches for man. -- Reaches for you who have fallen and scraped your heart raw, for you who feel the shame of words that snaked off your tongue and poisoned corners of your life, for you who keep trying to cover up pain with perfection. -- Three words come through the dense thicket of failure: Where are you?” - Ann Voskamp, The Greatest Gift

Those words struck me, as I tend to wrestle here (somewhere between fear and faith and not enough and too much) with perfectionism, and especially in areas I seem to have some measure of control over. They took me back to a time when I pondered perfection from perplexing perspectives and penned (blogged) a few points that I tho’t to polish up and put here.

In all my years of attempting to do something/anything/even just one thing perfectly, I have never, not once, ever succeeded. And the few times I've even come close (relatively speaking!) were SO stressful.

&

"Perfection" is pretty, but attaining and maintaining it is definitely NOT pretty. It's frustrating. Exhausting. Discouraging. Time consuming! Not to mention impossible.

&

Perfection is isolating because perfectionists are intimidating &/or intimidated easily.

&

With the exception of the precision and perfection I find in nature - which I believe is a reflection of the nature of the Creator - when I do see something or someone that's practically perfect (usually in photos or on TV) almost always, upon closer inspection, I figure out that it's been airbrushed. Photoshopped. Edited!

Evenso, at some point it seems God reached down thru’ my “dense thicket of failure” and presented me with this petite but precious and powerful passage:

Hebrews 10:14 (NIV) For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

WOW! (consider pausing here to ponder that!) ... essentially I understand it to mean that Christ died to do what I was dying to do! And with that understanding it’s heartbreaking (and appropriately so) to think of all the editing/red ink (blood!) my “story” required in order to make me perfect forever! But it seems the transfusion was/has been/is continually transforming - to the point that when I received (believed!) it, I stopped dying & started really living. And tho' doubt still creeps in and so I still wrestle here, somewhere between 'LORD, I believe - & - LORD, please help me overcome my unbelief!”, and tho' it's even more perplexing than all the others, Hebrews 10:14 is definitely the perspective from which I prefer to ponder perfection.

All that said in hopes that you’ll appreciate more than you might have otherwise, my early wishes to you for an IMPERFECT Christmas! … all with understanding that I believe it will be so much less stressful and all the more joy-full that way

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. John 3:16,17 (NIV)

preparing rooms and preparing Him room

Posted on fb at the beginning of Advent

Over the long weekend we were busy restoring order to rooms in our home that had pretty much been turned upside down as our teenage daughter moved out of one bedroom and into another and even as we tried to maintain order in the rest of the house. And we did it! Even managed to put up a few Christmas decorations as well. In just the nick of time for Advent we transformed our home from a bit cluttered & chaotic into more peaceful and pretty. Evenso, I still woke yesterday to the startling realization that it was already here! Advent! Somehow I seemed to think we had a bit more time to prepare. Nonetheless I was grateful for what we’d already done toward that end, tho’ still felt rushed into it all and perhaps a bit guilty for being so wrapped up in organizing and decorating. But with it being the first day of Advent, at some point I picked up “The Greatest Gift” and read the first chapters in which Ann Voskamp took me a-l-l the w-a-a -y back to “In the beginning … “ – to words from the very first chapter of recorded HIStory in Genesis. And I pondered ... that here & now I was, thousands of years later, feebly attempting to restore into my little corner of the world some semblance of the initial order that God so beautifully wove into and throughout creation with PeRfECt precision, pattern and purpose - and I felt a little better about the organizing and decorating we'd done recently. I guess I figured then that we must be doing something right, since that’s essentially what I get the impression God took great pleasure in doing in the beginning too ; )

Anyhow - now I'm attempting to shift my focus from “preparing rooms” to preparing Him room.