And This Little Piggie...

Psalm 126

One of my favorite childhood memories is playing "This Little Piggie" with just about anyone who would play. You know the game; someone grabs your big toe and says, "This little piggie went to market", then captures the toe next to your big one and says, "and this little piggie stayed home." The game would continue until the tiniest toe was gently pinched between two fingers and the words, "and this little piggie went wee, wee, wee all the way home." were squealed in playful teasing. At this point a grouping of fingertips would travel up your leg and land on your ribs, tickling you until you couldn't help burst into hysterical laughter.

At least that's how I remember it.

I also remember the pure joy I felt when the wee, wee, wee's were finally squealed because I knew a good tickling was soon to follow. However, what I honestly remember most is the look on the face of the person reciting the travels of the 5 little piggies and their anticipation of finally being able to squeal and tickle; bringing the joyful sound of a child's laughter into the room.

Such joy. Such simple joy.

This week in Advent we celebrate that feeling of joy. The joy promised to us by God that when we finally learn to live as God intended - in harmony as one people, under one love - we will fully understand. Like our Psalmist says today, "When the Lord changed Zion’s circumstances for the better, it was like we had been dreaming. Our mouths were suddenly filled with laughter; our tongues were filled with joyful shouts.

When a life lived with the love of God finally comes to realization, We will know such joy.

Sent Forth

Isaiah 61:1-11

We had a good discussion with the youth of our church this past Sunday about what we could do to help others get ready for Christmas. We talked about what Advent meant (the preparation to receive the love of God through Jesus Christ) and how we could bring Christmas to others.

We shared about how the things we do for Christmas today - decorating, gathering with family, bonding with people, preparing food, giving gifts - were probably the same thing people did to prepare or celebrate for a big event in Jesus' time as well. Then we took a look at how we could do these same things for people who just don't have the opportunities or for whom the holidays bring too much personal sadness.

Lots of ideas came from that discussion. We suggested looking for one of those Angel Tree outlets where we could select people or families who are asking for gifts of necessities at this time of year (as opposed to toys or more personal items). There's also Toys for Tots, Operation Christmas Child, and most likely a local program (in Hawaii we have the Laulima Drive) near you where you can do the same.

We suggested going to an elder care home and helping decorate the common area for Christmas, or doing something similar at a shelter for the homeless. We suggested serving a meal with one of the many organizations who do such things, such as Meals on Wheels, or The Salvation Army. We even suggested Christmas caroling for the street people.

I have to admit that my heart became filled with joy as these young people thought of different ways they could go out to prepare the way which would allow the Spirit of God to live among and within others. Such is the joy our world seeks. Such is the joy we can accomplish. All we need to do is allow ourselves to shine bright with the love of God in order for the lights around us, which may have gone out, to be re-lit and brightly gather together as one.

We, too, are called to go forth and bring God's joy to the world.

Gift Returns

Psalm 85:1-2, 8-13

One of the least favorite things for me while I was working in retail sales was the gift return. I would begrudgingly approach customers as they walked into the store, holding one of our store-logo bags with that obvious look of "I'm really not happy with what's in my hand."

These returns would make me less happy whenever it took place after the holiday season. How I got paid was two-fold, with a decent salary enhanced through commissions, so every return of one of the products I sold literally took away money from my bank account. Since we normally made good sales during the days leading up to Christmas, I could usually count on the first paycheck of the new year to be a good one, but not if there were a lot of returns.

These returns would not only hurt me financially but also put a nick in my ego. I honestly worked hard to ensure the purchase my customers made were exactly what they wanted. Unfortunately, however, there were just some purchases that weren't meant to happen.

So, when our Psalmist makes the case that God has made changes in the lives of the Hebrew people in times past, changes that brought about forgiveness and the ability to move forward with productive lives, then pleads for the leaders of the Jewish communities to not allow them to return to their foolish ways I know exactly how he feels.

The Psalmist understands that what God had done is very difficult work. He understands that the Hebrew people haven't been as faithful as they should have been and as a result their lives have been torn apart. As a result our Psalmist begs God to show the people of his day the same mercies; to once again bring forgiveness and prosperity to their lives.

God has worked hard to ensure we are given the gifts we need to make the choices which will in some way make our lives and the lives of those around us better. It would really be a shame to return those gifts.

Getting Comfortable

Isaiah 40:1-11

I hadn't realized until this moment that it has been 4 weeks since my last post. That's been 4 weeks of my not being able to express myself in response to my daily devotions. I'll have to be honest and say that I haven't been completely faithful in my devotions either, and maybe that's why I haven't been regular in my writings.

Just before setting fingertips to my keyboard today I asked myself, "Why has it been so long?" No one answer came forward - I was busy, I've been tired, I had other things to do, I've had no energy. The truth, if I take an honest look at it, is simply because I allowed other things to fill the space I usually spend with my God.

This is something I consistently teach to my students in church. "Always make time for God, Find the time necessary to be with God so you can work on your relationship with God." And yet, I had somehow allowed my time with God to slip away.

With the exception of this weekend (including the Thanksgiving holiday), my recent days have seemed scattered and awkward at best. I would say it was somewhat of a progression over the past month and, yes, I will say that it's because I've allowed myself to become disconnected from my God. You see, spending 30-45 minutes each day reading, praying, and writing brings to me a certain peace, especially after a full day of work.

One could say that for the past 4 weeks I've allowed my path to become bumpy and traveling an uneven path such as that has brought me discomfort.


A few weeks ago one of the high school students told me about her attempted, albeit extremely unsuccessful, overdose. I had been worried about her, watching her for any changes in her demeanor that might show a hint at whether she would get to that point again. I always asked how her day was going and she always said it was ok, but showed no interest in talking any further.

Today she came to sit with me to talk. We didn't talk about anything deep, mostly about her work, school projects, a little about family. She told jokes and smiled and it was good to see her back to her normal self. There was a pause in the conversation where she simply looked at me and I took that look to mean it was time to ask the question. "How are you doing?"

She replied, "Much better than a few weeks ago." I followed up with, "I know you don't really believe these things, but I'm praying for you every day." She smiled and gave me a friendly punch to the shoulder.

That simple 5-minute visit reminded me that sometimes on our journeys we lose contact with the things that are important to us. Sometimes we have to go astray in order to know we're going astray. It's in the moments when our paths are at their unevenest that we take the steps necessary to rediscover the straight, smooth paths on which we belong.

It's also in those moments I find myself longing to be with my God so that my hand can be held and my spirit calmed.

I've missed you, God.

Cross-over Crossings

Joshua 3:7-17

The stories told in the Hebrew Bible about the history of the Hebrew people can be downright amazing.

In today's story we have a nation, not a group of people or a few tribes but an entire nation, who are traveling into a new land where they will prosper and grow. They travel with the laws as given to Moses by God in what's come to be known as the Ark of the Covenant, which leads them on all of their journeys as a reminder that God is always with them. The problem is that in order to get to their new land, the nation of people need to cross a river that is swollen to overflowing proportions.

Not a problem for God, though. Joshua, who now leads the Hebrew people after the death of Moses, has a meeting with God who tells him to simply tell the leaders of the journey (those carrying the Ark) to dip their toes into the river and all will be taken care of. The Hebrew people reach the Jordan River and Joshua and his band of Ark-carriers, with God's help, stop an overflowing river in its tracks and create a gap wide enough for an entire nation to pass through.

There's the lesson. With God's leadership all things can be overcome.

When we learn to read the bible as it's meant to be - a collection of stories that talk about how God is at work in and through the lives of people - we can see better what the lessons really are. Did God stop an overflowing river? Maybe, maybe not. Did an entire nation of people travel across the dry riverbed into a new land? Maybe, maybe not?

Did the trust and faith in God's leadership help a nation survive even the most seemingly dangerous journey? Absolutely. When we put that same faith and trust into following what God is trying to lead us into, we too can overcome great obstacles; we too can stop an overflowing river in its tracks. And really, that's what the writers and recorders of the history of the Hebrew people want to carry on as their legacy - that when we allow our relationships to grow into having that same high level of faith and trust, we too can overcome the obstacles in our lives, no matter how big they might be.

A Clean Shower For All

Revelation 7:9-17

Last week I had an opportunity to speak with one of the students at my high school. She was just passing by, looking for one of her teachers, when she saw I was sitting in an empty classroom. She walked into our class, which is built to fit 100 students, and looked around just before saying, "Mister, you're all alone." and sitting down to have a talk with me.

We talked about volleyball, as she's on the team. We also talked about her family and her boyfriend. She asked about my family as well, and I told her about my wife and son. It was a good conversation, helping us to get to know each other beyond the basic student/teacher classroom relationship.

While in conversation about what we do on the weekends she mentioned that she goes to church every Sunday. I told her I do too, expanding on how I work with teens and young adults at our church. Her eyes opened a little, a small smile on her face as she said, "I can totally see you as a youth pastor.", which made me smile.

As we talked more about church and family and friends she told me how she knew of a lot of her friends who used to go to church and how it seems that now most of her friends are more about being noticed then being friends. I asked her what she meant and she said that a lot of the girls she grew up with in elementary and middle school are different now, and she doesn't know how to react to them.

I still wasn't really clear what she meant, so I asked for an example. She proceeded to tell me about a girl she knew since the first grade. They were good friends growing up, living only a few blocks from one another. They did everything together, including going to church. Then they got to high school and this friend of hers changed. She started wearing revealing clothes and hanging out with senior boys as well as doing other things to make herself look older and more "appealing" to older boys.

My new-found friend found herself in a predicament: in order to remain friends she felt as though she had to become just like her, and she was unwilling to just that. But, she told me, she really wanted to get her friend back. I told her that sometimes people change because they don't believe in themselves; their self-esteem is very low. Mix into this a deep need to belong in some kind of group as well as the search for an identity by people at her friend's age, and sometimes those close to us seem to be different than the ones we knew at a younger age, when deep inside they are really the same

What she might try, I told her, is to reach out to her friend and let her know that she still cares about her, and misses hanging out and talking. "Let your friend know you still love her, regardless of the recent decisions she's making." I told her.

Today, as I once again sat in an empty classroom, my new-found friend walked by and joined me for some conversation. She told me she did what I said and it made her friend cry. She continued to tell me that her friend explained that she thought she had lost all her friends because of how she was dressing and acting and she didn't know what to do. I simply smiled and said, "Isn't it a great feeling to be in a friendship where unconditional love, the kind of love God gives us, is what the friendship is based on?" She smiled and I could see a tear form in her eye. I told her she was the best friend her friend could have.

This passage in Revelation reminds me that when we're in the presence of a loving God, we can't help but to have our "robes" cleansed. We can't help but to shed the things which we wear to define us, but aren't really who we are. It also reminds me that this cleansing of our outer self, if that's what we can call it, is for all people from all nations - all. The love of God is not exclusive, nor does it make judgement as to who receives that love.

I look forward to the next conversation with my new-found friend and to hear about how much closer her and her childhood friend had grown together once again.

It's All Good

1 Thessalonians 2:1-8

Today was report-card day in our school. It's a day all the students look forward to, even if for the most part they know what their individual grades are. This being the first report card of the year also brings with it a kind of mixed review with those who have great grades wondering if they can keep up the pace for the rest of the year, and those who have less than acceptable grades wondering what they need to do to do better.

Being directly involved with some of our kids I know where they stand as far as grades are concerned. I can tell by the look on some of their faces that they feel badly about what they've done so far. Those who feel comfortable with me come to let me know how they feel, and I console or congratulate them the best I can. However, I feel being honest with them at this point in the year works best; so I get honest.

I tell those who are doing well to keep up the good work, and when it seems like things are getting difficult, remember that there are many people who want them to succeed. I warn them there will be times when they want to quit, when it all gets overwhelming, and those are the moments to know, without a doubt, we are all here to get them through it.

With those students who didn't fare well I have really one thing to say: "We tried to tell you what you needed to do in order to pass." I tell them the things we guided them towards, the things which we suggested, the things which we said were the keys to succeed in the classroom are the things they really should have done in the last quarter. But, and I emphasize the "but", going forward we want them to know that the choices they make have to better and, also emphasizing the "and", going forward they need to understand that we are all here to help them succeed.

Sometimes in our life we forget that there are people who tried to help us, people who told us that the path we're on may not be the best one for our life's journey. It's only when we feel as though our lives are on a downward spiral that we seek these people out. maybe we do so to see if they still can help, maybe we do so because we want to know if they will gloat. Whatever the reason, we seek them out because somewhere deep inside we know they were right, and we hope they are still willing to get us through the darkness.

Paul answered God's call to tell people what he absolutely knew was the truth. Paul tried to help people understand that it's through the unity of all people under one love that together, together, we help each other find the peaceful joy Jesus Christ came to show us. That's a good message to share.