How Long It Has Been?

So, how long has it been?
It’s been well over 2,091 days. That’s nearly 7 billion hours and over 182 seconds.
It’s been a long time since I’ve blogged.

Here’s an update for my cadre of readers (hi, Mom):

- Emily and I are expecting our third child any moment now. Any moment? Yes. Literally any moment, that child will find the key to the birth canal and barge into the world, not unlike TV’s Kramer on Seinfeld (before the stand-up debacle).

- Lexi is spending the weekend at Grandma’s and probably having more fun than a kid should be allowed to have. Malachi is home with us. We’re talking him through what’s about to happen with the whole “new baby sister” thing. He is three. He is mildly confused. I now fully understand the invention of the stork.

- I am working on Ordination homework pretty much non-stop. When it’s all done in April, I’m afraid I won’t know what to do (besides adding a Rev. to my signature when I buy the priest’s collar)

- Christmas Eve. You’ve heard of it, I’m sure. We’re celebrating at Spring Arbor FMC. It should be great. Christmasy and such.

- Mornings at Home will be on a brief hiatus between Christmas and the New Year. This is good.

Leno on not so Late Night

What’s the deal with Jay Leno taking a job at his own company? You’ve probably heard that Leno will start a new show at 10pm, weeknights on NBC. He’s retiring from the Tonight Show, Conan is moving to Jay’s old desk and (ugh) Jimmy Fallon is moving in to Conan’s old place. NBC’s Monday-Friday schedule will look like this:
8-10pm: Prime Time Fodder, probably all involving Donald Trump
10-11pm: Jay Leno’s new Show
11-11:30pm: Affiliate Time!
11:35-12:30am: Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien.
12:30am-1:30am: Jimmy Fallon makes us all feel better about our own lives
Pros: Conan O’Brien on earlier, and uh… that’s it.
Cons: Jay Leno steals the thunder from Conan. Jimmy Fallon.

If you’ve ever seen the movie/documentary “Late Shift”, this whole debacle makes some sense. When Johnny Carson was on his way out, there was a massive, earth shattering event between NBC, Jay Leno and David Letterman. Letterman once hosed what is currently the Conan show. Carson wanted Letterman to take the show, but NBC picked Leno. This gave Dave the ol’ shaft-a-roo and he ended up going over to CBS. For a while, Letterman had the ratings at CBS. Today, though, Leno wins.
It was a huge mess that gave the Tonight Show on NBC its first legitimate competition that didn’t somehow involve Ted Koppel.
Everyone walked away thinking “man, that could have gone better”. Letterman could have hosted the Tonight Show (would have been awesome). Leno could still be doing standup (he’s pretty good at that). And Jimmy Fallon would work at a Taco Bell in Fresno. Conan? Oh, he’d still be a writer on the Simpsons, guaranteeing their success well past the 181st season.

We’ll see how this goes, I guess.

Wait.
Hold on.

I should probably apologize for being so hard on Jimmy Fallon. I think he’s funny. He’s certainly been on Saturday Night Live more than me, which is zero times.

I should also apologize for not liking Jay Leno as much as David Letterman. Poor Jay is one of the nicest guys on the planet and ended up being the puppet of his agent, who now works at a Taco Bell in Fresno. I like Jay, too.

Chicago Concert, yet it was in East Lansing

Emily and I just caught Chicago (motto: 219 years of great music) at MSU in East Lansing. Great show! I didn’t realize until now that Chicago doesn’t really have any Christmas music in their collection, which explains why they didn’t do any at this three-weeks from Christmas concert.
Since Chicago has nearly 724 albums, it’s hard to cover it all in one two-hour sitting. That’s why they (seriously) did medleys of 3 or 4 songs from the same era in one shot. The thing that really blows my mind is the sheer memory capacity of these guys, playing every note, rhythm and chord with accuracy. And for those of you playing with a full deck of music theory cards, we’re not talking a I – IV – V pattern over and over; we’re talking I – viadd9 – IV/I – vii+ – iiMaj7 – Borrowed V7 – etc.
The sound was tight, the crowd was into it* and the lights were right on. It wasn’t quite the same as the Ben Folds show that Emily and I saw a few months back, but that’s because a band tends to establish a wide audience when they’ve been producing music for over 19 generations. Chicago has stood the test of time and, from what I saw and heard them say tonight, they see their success as a blessing –even a surprise.
Great show.

–
*They were sitting on the edge of their seats at one point but scooted back once they realized the source of discomfort.

New Dashboard from our pals at WordPress

I like it. The QuickPress function is my favorite part. I’m walking down memory lane with the Recent Drafts window, now right out there for me to see how many blog posts I’ve started and abandoned. As I read through them, I realize that this was probably a good idea.
I’m glad – to this day – that I switched from Blogger to WordPress. Very nice update!

‘Tis the Season for Christmas Parties

I like crackers and snacks. That’s what my three year old was saying on the way to the refreshment table which was serving crackers and cheese en masse, while on the next table the corporate punch bowl and reindeer napkins were standing by.

I love our “company” Christmas party. I say “company” in quotes because we’re not really a company but rather a group of churches in a given regional area which we call a conference. Imagine a bunch of pastors, their spouses and, perhaps offering the greatest dynamic, their children. Imagine steamed vegetables and other dinner products. Put them all at tables in a big gymnasium and keep them occupied — mix, season and let it rise — there’s your Christmas party.

It was a good one, too. I like it when all these people are together because pastors get their needed connection, we can get to know families and, best of all, we get to watch a puppet show together. How often do we get to do this? I’ve never counted, but I do know that we had to leave early because Lexi had just about enough of this “sitting still” business. Malachi was fed up with having to be “quiet” while we “listened”. We left early, so I have yet to hear how the rest of it went. I’m sorry to say we missed the juggling. I’m also sorry to say that we didn’t think to jam some cheese and crackers into Emily’s purse before we left, since that would make an ideal breakfast for the kids right about now.
They also want me to do a puppet show this morning, an event for which I am not prepared. I’ll leave that to the pros.

Advent Thoughts, Week 2 – Peace

I’m sitting at a coffee shop and thinking about peace. It feels like I am sitting in the very center of serenity. A woman is reading through a section of the local paper. There’s a guy on his phone looking at his laptop; it sounds like work yet it’s undeniably casual. There’s a fire, but no one is a panic because it’s burning in a fireplace, which is the textbook approach to controlling a fire for heat and light. Within this 900 square foot space, we have become the epitome of peace. The lighting is comforting. Even the floors seem warm. There’s no concern that the roof is about to cave in, no worries about the cold, no hunger or thirst. Even the chairs are inviting and are ready to be pulled up to a table, which happens to be the ideal height. We are individually enjoying something together, this peaceful serene setting of a coffee sho. The fire gently burns as time seems to gently roll forward.

We are a people at peace.

I wonder what would happen, though, if we were to go up to a total stranger and ask if they’re at peace. Chances are that most of the peopole here would say that they were. That’s thanks in part to the space we’re in. What’s true, though, is that someone could be sitting here in this place of peace and find themselves on the brink of total disaster. Divorce, pain, financial trouble, kids in jail, dying parents — you name it. If the five people sitting in this coffee shop represent an accurate cross section of the western world, most everyone could cite something in thier lives that is falling apart, keeping them up at night and possibly even terrorizing them to no end.

Someone here could be experiencing their most serene moment right now. They know that the moment they move on, things will get much worse and go back to “normal”. Back to work, where the boss is on their back. Back home, where the garage door opener still doesn’t work right. Back in the driver’s seat of your 89 Corsica which is in desperate need of a head gasket. Yes, we are a people at peace — externally, at least. Internally things may be quite different, which is a bit ironic considering just how wonderful this place feels. Our humanity gives us the ability to sit on things, to make it look like everything is fine, to press on regardless of the trouble. Someone might be just fine and would say that wherever they are, there is peace. Yet we have all gravitated to this serenity. Out of all the places we could go to accomplish work, drink coffee, sit and think — we have all chosen this place of peace.

I’m not saying that something bad happens and we all respond by running to a coffee house; it’s not that logical. But we can draw some conclusions here that are clear indicators of the human condition. We are a people who create and dwell in external peace because we long for total peace. We like it here for many reasons. It’s balanced, it’s easy, it’s comfortable and safe. Maybe our internal lack of peace is easier to ignore when we’re here.

I want peace. I work hard to create it and to keep it around. But do I have that kind of control over peace? Do I have any contorl at all? Could it be that our longing for peace and our building of peaceful places points a finger at our spectacular need for harmony, freedom and order?

Enter Jesus. He’s called the Prince of Peace, a title which implies a couple of things. One, Jesus has a certain kind of authority over peace. Two, if there’s a prince of peace, there’s probably a King of peace. We can now infer a few more things. Peace isn’t automatic; it is controlled by its Lord. Peace doesn’t have a free will — it’s not a “force” to be reckoned with or something we can control because it’s not something WE are prince of. Peace comes as a result of the Prince of Peace saying “go here”, by either its Prince or King.

What is the meaning of a promised Messiah being called the “Prince of Peace”? Did people hear that prophecy and breathe a sigh of relief, thinking that it was so good to know that our lack of peace would now be adressed? Or did they wonder why this was important? Peace? For what? I’ll take the other titles. We could use an Everlasting Father. We could even use a Wonderful Counselor. But Prince of Peace?

It’s kind of like trying to fix something and someone saying “here, try this tool instead”, giving us a hammer for our nail instead of using a blunt object.
“Ooooohhhh” we say. I needed that the whole time! It makes SENSE!

Peace is exactly what we need whether we realize it or not. What a good and fitting promise, given our condition. We lack peace and serenity, especially on the inside. Without a Savior, without justification, without propitiation, we are lost and broken. And we lack peace.

The Bible doesn’t even really try to explain peace to us. Paul says that God’s Peace “passes understanding”. It’s like Jiffy Pop: it’s great, but we don’t know exaclty how it works.

What we DO know, however is that we are in need of Peace — God’s peace. We know that Jesus is the Prince of Peace and that part of His coming as Messiah would be the return of Peace to the people. We know that humans long for peace and strive for it both internally and externally. We may be able to find comfort in our surroundings, but they do nothing for our inner-self. This is the role of God, the King of Peace, and His Son — the Prince of Peace.

Vanishing America

Local Celebrity Roger Varland just loaned me his copy of Vanishing America, a book that chronicles the End of Main Street — Diners, Drive-Ins, Donut Shops, and Other Everyday Monuments. It is written (written?) by Michael Eastman. I say “written?” because it’s a book comprised mostly of images and not words. Do we “write” pictures? Anyway, the book is a collection of photographs that capture what was — the store in Cario, Illinois that has emblazoned on the front “If it new, DOTTY has it!”, right above a doorway that has been sealed off for years. 8-cent shoe repair, ads for Gold Medal Flour (“why not now?” it asks) and a big giant Indian Chief statue in Maine. It’s all old stuff that is well past its heyday (or never really had one to begin with).

Looking at all this old stuff reminds me of the story of my Faith. I can’t rely on the things that were fresh 2 months or 10 years ago; I must constantly find renewal in Jesus; otherwise, my spiritual life is destined for a coffee table book full of inert nostalgia.

Renew me today.

Toasted Donut

I’m sitting at a certain coffee house that I will avoid naming, though I will tell you that they use a big B for their logo. I know what you’re thinking – “Burger King? That’s not a coffee house!” – and you’re right. I know you are right because I am experiencing something wholly other that Burger King would never do for a customer, and that is as follows:

Toasted Donut

I’m standing at the counter to purchase coffee and a delightful pastry. A cinnamon scone caught my attention, though I don’t like how brittle they are. So I asked: “Are those scones crunchy?”, to which the person replied “they are brittle“, which if you remember I just mentioned a sentence ago that I don’t like. I recoiled and said “then I’ll just have a cinnamon donut”, since the flavor of cinnamon was now on my imaginary flavor palette, the one that reminds you of what things taste like and why you either like them or despise them. This is what stops me from eating Cranberry sauce at holiday meals. The very moment I see it my imaginary flavor palette kicks in and says “fruity ashtray”; as soon as I see Turkey, it says “buttery meat”, which sounds better than the former. This is the job of the imaginary flavor palette. It has served me well for many years and was now prompting me toward cinnamon, thus the donut selection.

“Are you looking for something cinnamony and crunchy” she asked me.
“Yes, why… what do you have in mind” (my internal palette checking against the known foods and consistency charts and and approving)
“Would you like me to run that donut through the toaster? It’s really good”
“Yes. Yes. OH YES!”

I just ate the last bite of heaven. It’s like an elephant ear died and left me its estate. Which I have eaten. Add this one to the imaginary palette list.

Advent Liturgizing

I’m working on Advent, the Liturgical season that just began Sunday, November 30. Advent is the beginning of the new year on the Liturgical calendar, so, let me say… happy new year. Let me also say that Advent is a big deal, and here’s why:

Advent means “coming”, referring to the coming Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament

Advent also refers to the Second Coming of Jesus, a time where He will come back

Basically, we let this idea soak into our lives as we Worship in these weeks leading up to Christmas Day. Advent isn’t a time of super high-energy celebration per se, but rather one of waiting as we realize our lostness without a Savior and our darkness without the Light. It’s no funeral, but it is designed to be a little more introspective, thoughtful and eye-opening. THEN Christmas Day celebrates – a party like no other – because we’ve recognized our need for a Savior who has come (and will come again). Unless you have a sense of brokenness and remorse, redemption doesn’t seem like that big of a deal.

Advent is like taking the long way home. You know where you’re headed (Christmas) but you want to really make sure you soak up the surroundings that lead up to it. It is an intentional season that helps us remember as we wait for the coming one. To do this, we need time and we need some kind of plan or a map, something that helps guide us in this pilgrimage. If you’re like me and grew up Advent-less, then it’s especially helpful. In my experience, Advent brings a new meaning to Christmas, as if suddenly seeing in 3D. The Lord is using it in me. I pray that He uses it in our congregation.