I'll Understand Someday - So I've Heard

Everyone has wished that their lives could be like a movie or TV show. Personally, I have always wanted to live in the TV show Boy Meets World, for example. It seems as though when we watch favorite characters their lives always seem to come together, or they reflect how we wish things really were. But we always know that we live in reality, not in a small screen that sits in our living room. Well . . . at least in my apartment its a small screen.

About a week ago I had my very own "I feel like I'm in a TV show" moment. Although it was not from Boy Meets World. It was Sex and the City. Which is strange considering my life is NOTHING like the lives of these four characters in the TV show. 

I was invited to a party for some people that I know. I was excited to go because I have learned that since moving to Missouri my social life has been practically non-existent. So the opportunity to meet new people and to hang out with some friends seemed like fun. I knew that I wouldn't know many people there, but I had a few friends going and surely they would introduce me. 

Apparently not. 

It was a married couples party. There was perhaps one other single person in the room from what I could tell. All of the guests had come with their spouses, and some even their children. Now don't get me wrong, my friends who were there are wonderful people and I did have a good time. But I couldn't help but feel . . . out of place. All of the married couples were talking to one another and having fun. I have no idea what they were talking about because I was not invited into these conversations. I was not even introduced to the guests at the party I did not know. 

Waiting for the Impossible

Advent. Outside of the church walls (and to be even more specific, liturgical church walls) this word is not used very often.
Contrary to popular belief, we are NOT in the Christmas season. Not yet anyways.We are in the season of Advent. According to Wikipedia.com Advent means:

Arrival or Coming

Advent is the time in the church year that we wait for the coming of Jesus. It starts the Sunday after Thanksgiving and lasts all the way through Christmas Eve. Then starting Christmas Day is the 12 days of Christmas.   So we are waiting right now for our partridge in a pear tree.

The Calm Before The Storm

Mary immediately got up and hurried to the hill country, in the province of Judah, where her cousins Zacharias and Elizabeth lives. When Mary entered their home and greeted Elizabeth, who felt her baby leap in her womb, Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Luke 1:39-41 The Voice

It's happening again. John knows something - again. But how?

Elizabeth has always known that her child John was special. She thought she would never have children, then an angel appears to Zacharias telling him that they will have a baby. He didn't believe the angel, and because of this he is mute for the next nine months. (Imagine a pregnant woman and a mute guy in the same house . . . I don't envy them.) Then, her cousin Mary arrives at her door and the baby John jumps in her womb.


Jumps. As a fetus. A child that has not been born yet and is still developing. He was at about six months when Elizabeth saw Mary. To the right is a picture of a baby at 6 months while developing in the womb. At this point in development (according to web sties I Googled) the baby's brain is beginning to recognize touch and even a bit of light. The brain development is beginning to get really intense at this point. But it's just starting . . .

How can an unborn child at this stage leap in his mother's womb knowing that something special is going on? This must be some amazing kid coming into the world . . .

Questions Without Answers

Part of my job at the church is to teach the 1st year Confirmation class. So on Thursday nights from 6-7:30 I spend time with twelve 6th graders and four parent guides. I have to say, this year's class keeps me on my toes. I never wanted to be a classroom teacher, but once a week for an hour and a half, I can deal with it. It's also nice that I don't necessarily have to stick to "traditional" teaching methods. The picture to the right is an image I see every week. Students excitedly raising their hands. (And yes, sometimes they do try to get out of their seats.) This happens with every class, but I've noticed that this year it has been happening a lot more than usual . . . and it's to ask questions not answer them.

This is by far the most inquisitive group of 11 year olds that I have ever met in my life. It's a lot of fun. They want to know more about the Bible and God and faith. They ask the hard questions too. One of my favorites was "If Jesus is God, then why does he always call on the Father's power for miracles? Doesn't he have powers of his own?"

And my response was . . .

"Uh.... yes?"

In my head I was thinking . . .

"You're 11. You're not supposed to be thinking of hard questions like that which I can't answer."

Mary - The Next Cast Member of Glee

As mean as it probably sounds, one of the best parts of my job is embarrassing teenagers. Seriously. I get plenty of opportunities to do so, especially with our picture of the week . . . good times and AWESOME blackmail material. A week or so ago I was able to turn one of my girls so red... it was quite amusing. We've been watching The Nativity Story in Sunday School the last few weeks and we had gotten to the part where Gabriel tells Mary about the baby and Mary's family finding out. We had one girl in the room who was around the age Mary would have been. I asked her, "So what would you do if an angel came to you and told you that you were going to give birth to the Son of God?" Her eyes got SO WIDE and she said that she would freak out. Then I asked her "How would your parents react?" Her eyes got EVEN WIDER and said:

"MY DAD WOULD KILL ME!"

I then responded with:

"He would probably want to kill M too."

(M is the guy she is currently/has been involved with this school year.)

It was hilarious.

New Dad

FINALLY I have been able to find a good YouTube video for a song off of Todd Agnew's Christmas CD Do You See What I See? This week I'll be talking about Joseph. If you want to read my first and second posts for this blog series here are the links:

Post 2: Can You Save Mel

Post 1: Are You Ready For Your Surprise?

When I first bought this CD, Joseph's song "This is All I Have to Give" was one of the songs that stood out to me. I listened to it over and over again. Before listening to the album or seeing the movie The Nativity Story (which is what the clips in the video are from) I had never really thought about Joseph. He was just always there. I payed more attention to Marry and the angels and shepherds than anyone else. But in the last few years I've grown to have an amazing appreciation for Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus. It must have been strange for him to have to act as a father to the Son of God...

In recent years I've seen more and more of my family members and my friends get married and have children. It's a really exciting time in our lives and I love seeing all of these changes. When I think of new dads, there are two people I think of.

Are You Ready For Your Surprise?- Prelude

I'm going to be honest for a moment, and it might sound weird coming from a DCE. But in the past few years I haven't really enjoyed "Christian" music. There are only a handful of "Christian Artists" who I can really sit and listen to for long periods of time. I used to like Christian music a lot. For a few years it was almost all that I listened to. Maybe I went on Christian Radio Overload. Who knows? There are times when I turn to the popular Christian radio station in Cape and I can barely sit through a single song. Now, I don't want to criticize Christan music. If that's what you enjoy, that's awesome. All the more power to you, and again, there are some Christian music artists that I really like.

One of them is Todd Agnew. You may have heard one of his most popular songs "Grace Like Rain." He has a deep rich voice that at times could be compared to Johnny Cash, but with a larger range. He has a distinct sound that once you hear his voice you'll never forget it and you will know almost instantly when a song of his is playing.

Confessions of an Emotional Masochist

When I was a student at Concordia, many of my friends would joke around about how I was the center of the infamous "Concordia Grape Vine". If one of my friends wanted to know something about someone on campus, I was the one the would go to. Well, since I have not lived on the campus of Concordia for about three years now, I am no longer the center of the "CGV". However, I have learned that I do happen to know a lot about another community of people....

TEENAGERS

As a youth minister I hear about all of the latest drama happening at the Jr. High and High Schools. If you are either currently in that age group, or remember what it was like, you should know what that is like. Who likes who and who is dating who changes nearly hourly. It can be exhausting. But I have to say, I am honored that the youth at St. Andrew and their friends trust me enough and feel comfortable with me to trust me with the goings on in their lives. It's awesome and I love it.